'Hemp, hemp, hooray!'

Posted: Tuesday, March 17, 2015 5:28 pm

By Mike Gangloff
mike.gangloff@roanoke.com
381-1669

Hemp is back.

Or rather, a framework that could allow Virginia farmers to once again legally grow the marijuana-like crop was created Monday when Gov. Terry McAuliffe signed into law a bill crafted by New River Valley Del. Joseph Yost.

Yost, R-Pearisburg, was jubilant. ... “A new (renewed) cash crop is coming to Virginia!” he wrote Tuesday in an email about the governor’s action. “Hemp, hemp, hooray!”

Hemp is a strain of marijuana that lacks the concentrated delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, that creates the high in those who use it. Instead, hemp yields more fiber. For centuries, hemp’s fiber has been used to make items like rope, cloth and paper, while its seeds and oil have been used in a wide assortment of foods, medicines and other products.

Hemp was outlawed in the United States decades ago. But last year, the federal Farm Bill opened the door for state-by-state authorization.