Bill would open door for industrial hemp production

Senate Bill 5012 received its first hearing January 13 in the Senate Agriculture, Water & Rural Economic Development Committee.

"With recreational marijuana legal now in our state, it is simply common sense that hemp, with its negligible THC content, be a legal crop to grow in our state," Hatfield said.

The bill would give researchers at Washington State University until August 2016 to complete a study on how a hemp industry would be established in the state.

"Legalization of hemp would open the door to a niche crop that some farmers may find value in producing," Honeyford said.

Five other states - Colorado, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee and Vermont - have already passed similar measures.

Hemp is used in thousands of products from food to cosmetics. The United States is the world's top importer of industrial hemp fiber while Canada and China are the top exporters.