The hemp revival: why marijuana's cousin could soon be big business

The useful crop has seen renewed interest alongside legalized weed – and there are signs that US officials are warming to it

Alex Halperin
Mon 11 Jun 2018 10.00 BST Last modified on Mon 11 Jun 2018 10.02 BST

Long associated with the hoariest hippie stereotypes, hemp is now chic.

The crop – which is a cannabis plant very similar to marijuana, but lacking its best-known property: getting you high – is a versatile raw material, and like its more notorious relative, it could once again become very lucrative.

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But the climate is changing. In recent weeks, the US Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, a conservative Republican who opposes marijuana legalization, has called for hemp to be legalized, a move which would benefit farmers, though McConnell still opposes marijuana legalization.

And it’s not just the farmers in McConnell’s home state of Kentucky who would be pleased to see a resurgence of the crop. Early this month for hemp history week, the US Senate unanimously passed a non-binding resolution acknowledging hemp’s economic value and “historical relevance”.

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