Hemp Regulation Advances In Colorado

DENVER (AP) - Colorado farmers who want to grow newly legal industrial hemp are closer to being allowed to do it. A state Senate vote Friday puts a hemp regulation measure halfway to the governor's desk.

The bill requires interested hemp farmers to register with the state Agriculture Department. State agriculture officials say they're not sure how many farmers will grow it.

The bill passed 34-1, with the only opponent saying he opposes not the hemp plant but the registration requirement. The bill now heads to the House.

Senators passed around granola bars made with hemp and said the crop could be a small boost to Colorado farmers.

Industrial hemp looks like marijuana, but it lacks most of the psychoactive properties of its better-known cousin.

LINK: Senate Bill 241

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