An Idaho legislative panel is considering a measure to legalize the production and sale of industrial hemp in Idaho. The bill before the Idaho House State Affairs Committee allows Idaho farmers to grow and sell hemp products containing 3-tenths-of-a-percent or less of THC, the cannabis compound that gives marijuana its high. The bill, sponsored by Representative Caroline Nilsson Troy, of Genesee, and Senator Abby Lee, of Fruitland, mandates the Idaho State Department of Agriculture set up a state program for hemp that would include stipulations for permitting, testing, and transportation. Although the measure differentiates hemp from marijuana in Idaho’s state code for the first time, it would not remove hemp from the state’s list of controlled substances. Idaho is one of only three states that does not allow the cultivation of hemp, despite the federal government making it legal to grow industrial hemp under the 2018 Farm Bill. (Lewiston Morning Tribune, Idaho Statesman)
