Congressman Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) appeared on “The Independents”, a libertarian-leaning talk show airing on Fox Business, to discuss the Drug Enforcement Administration’s efforts to impede agricultural research of hemp in Kentucky.
“I’m asking the President, maybe somebody didn’t get the memo at the DEA, because he’s not enforcing the marijuana laws in other states. Why is he enforcing a hemp law that no longer applies after the Farm Bill was passed and he signed it?” Massie told host Kennedy after taking a bite out of an energy bar filled with hemp seeds on the air.
Kentucky made the beginning steps to legalize industrial hemp with the passing of SB 50 in 2013, although the bill had been passed on the condition that the federal government needed to lift its national ban. In February of this year, President Obama signed a Farm Bill that partially lifted the federal ban, allowing hemp cultivation for research purposes.
Last week, after 250 pounds of hemp seeds were ordered from Italy and headed to the University of Kentucky, the DEA intercepted the shipment and seized the batch of seeds, triggering a lawsuit from the state of Kentucky.
Massie explained that the DEA has no authority to attempt to dictate what hemp bill’s language means to the cosponsors of the bill – “we wrote it,” he said- then told the hosts of the show what the hemp bill really means:
“Get out of Kentucky, let us grow our hemp.”