Nevada lawmakers focused on the ever-present task of diversifying the state’s economy are considering a novel way to help jumpstart Nevada's economy — conducting an interim study on the state’s hemp industry.
For 70 years, hemp cultivation was illegal in the United States until the passage of the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018, Sen. Roberta Lange (D-Las Vegas) said during a presentation on the study proposed as part of SCR4 to the Senate Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections on Thursday.
Despite the ban, the U.S. remained one of the largest importers of the plant, and a previous iteration of the Farm Bill allowed states such as Nevada to start their own limited pilot program of legal hemp growth.
But approval of the 2018 federal legislation didn’t solve all of the budding hemp industry’s problems overnight. Lange said by launching the study, Nevada can develop a market that can increase jobs and boost the state's economy.
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