Bill to legalize hemp introduced in Idaho

BOISE – An Idaho House of Representatives committee will introduce legislation to legalize the growth, transportation and sale of hemp throughout the state.

The Idaho Press reports the bill introduced Friday comes as a Colorado company is suing Idaho agencies, trying to get its shipment of 6,700 pounds of declared hemp that Idaho State Police confiscated last month during a traffic stop and arrest.

Republican Reps. Caroline Nilsson Troy of Genesee and Dorothy Moon of Stanley presented the legislation to the House Agricultural Affairs Committee. The first part of the measure legalizes hemp in Idaho, and the second removes hemp from the list of Idaho’s Schedule 1 controlled substances, so long as it contains 0.3 percent or less of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.

The bill would change Idaho law to conform to the 2018 federal Farm Bill signed by President Trump in December.