John R. Roby

jroby@pressconnects.com | @PSBJRoby

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has signed legislation opening the door for growing and researching industrial hemp in New York.

The bill, introduced by Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo and Sen. Tom O’Mara, creates an agricultural pilot program to study ways to cultivate and manufacture products with the multi-use crop. It passed both houses of the State Legislature in the spring.

Colleges and universities, including Cornell, Binghamton University and Paul Smith’s College, have expressed interest in taking part in New York’s research program, Lupardo said.

Hemp cultivation has been banned because it is closely related to marijuana, though the two are genetically distinct, and hemp cannot be used to produce a psychoactive drug.

The 2014 federal farm bill removed hemp cultivation for agricultural research from Drug Enforcment Agency oversight in states where growing it is legal. The bill Cuomo signed brings that list of states to 19.

A 2014 report by the Congressional Research Service, “Hemp as an Agricultural Commodity,” estimates the value of imports at $37 million.

“This is an exciting first step for this crop,” Lupardo said. “This research will help guide our farmers and producers when the federal government allows full-scale production.”

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