Pubdate: Sat, 24 May 2014
Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock, AR)
Copyright: 2014 The Associated Press
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Page: 7A

KENTUCKIANS WIN HEMP-SEED BATTLE

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Tiny hemp seeds that produced a drawn-out legal 
fight were freed from confinement and delivered Friday to Kentucky's 
Agriculture Department for experimental plantings, marking a limited 
comeback for the nonintoxicating cousin of marijuana.

The seeds from Italy that drew so much suspicion from federal drug 
officials were unceremoniously unloaded from a UPS truck and then 
weighed by state agriculture officials. The shipment featuring 13 
seed varieties came in at 286 pounds. It marked an uneventful 
conclusion to a standoff that pitted the state's Agriculture 
Department against the federal government.

State Agriculture Commissioner James Comer, a Republican who sees 
hemp as a potential cash crop for farmers and a jobs creator for 
processors, said the arrival of the seeds puts Kentucky at the 
forefront of efforts to reintroduce the long-banned crop in the United States.

The seeds were detained for two weeks by U.S. customs officials in 
Louisville, delaying pilot growing projects meant to gauge the crop's 
potential. Six universities are assisting with the research for the 
highly versatile crop. Growing hemp without a federal permit was 
banned in 1970 due to its classification as a controlled substance 
related to marijuana.

The seeds were sprung from confinement after federal drug officials 
approved a permit Thursday that ended the legal standoff. The 
breakthrough occurred after attorneys for the Agriculture Department 
and federal government met twice with a federal judge.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom