New Iowa law to help state comply with federal hemp guidelines
The governor has signed a bill into law that makes it clear “smoke-able” hemp is illegal in Iowa and hemp cannot be fed to animals.
The legislation is an update to a 2019 law that legalized the growing of industrial hemp in Iowa. Representative Ross Paustian, a Republican from Walcott, said the State of Iowa is still awaiting USDA approval before Iowa farmers can start growing hemp.
“This bill helps us to comply with some federal requirements,” Paustian said. “The bill also allows for the manufacture, sale and transportation of hemp products if they contain no more than 0.3% of THC.”
Representative Bob Kressig, a Democrat from Cedar Falls, said even though some of the requirements for growing hemp are pretty strict, the bill sets Iowa in the right direction.
“I think we’re going to probably have to look at this down the road to make it more acceptable for people that want to grow this product and use it for all kinds of things,” Kresig said.
Senator Tom Shipley, a Republican from Nodaway, said it will take time to develop the hemp industry
“There’s some processors out there that are looking to do some things, innovative things that I think are going to be a big benefit to more people than we realize,” Shipley said.
The bill passed the House 99-1 in March, the Senate vote this weekend was 48-1 and Governor Reynolds signed it into law yesterday.
