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A complaint filed in federal court alleges that a Farm Service Agency official in Oklahoma has been lying to and threatening farmers who express interest in growing hemp under an official state program.

In place since April 2018, the Oklahoma Industrial Hemp Pilot Program was established to allow for crop research while the product was still considered an illegal drug under the federal Controlled Substances Schedule. The U.S. Farm Bill, signed late last year, removed hemp from the schedule, ensuring farming and commerce could proceed without the threat of federal prosecution as long as the product does not exceed 0.3% THC.

A new law awaiting the signature of Gov. Kevin Stitt would expand the program in Oklahoma to allow for commercial production of industrial hemp, but currently only farmers contracted through a licensed state university or college may participate in hemp research through the pilot program.

The lawsuit plaintiff, Equitable Organic Ventures, claims it got 20 farmers on board to grow hemp for its program through an unnamed higher education institution.