“Despite the legitimate uses of hemp, many agricultural producers of the United States are prohibited under current law from growing hemp,” states the resolution. “Because most hemp cannot be grown legally in the United States, raw hemp material and hemp products are imported for sale in the United States.” The resolution makes notes of the “historical relevance” of hemp, as well as its “growing economic potential”.

The resolution’s passage comes just a couple months after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) introduced the Hemp Farming Act of 2018. The bipartisan supported measure would remove hemp from the federal list of controlled substances, effectively legalizing it across the country.

This is the third straight year that the U.S. Senate has passed a resolution acknowledging the potential of industrial hemp.