When you first exit your car in the parking lot of an unassuming warehouse on Middle Tennessee Boulevard, you're hit with a smell often found at college parties and music festivals: marijuana.

But it's not actually weed you're smelling; It's hemp, and it's legal in Tennessee.

"Medically, this is important to the public at large," said Bill Wall, chief operating officer of Benmar International Group.

Benmar processes hemp, extracting cannabidiol from the plant's flowers. The oil, commonly known as CBD, is then sold wholesale all over the globe.

Marijuana and hemp smell alike, and they look even more alike. To the untrained eye, it's nearly impossible to tell the difference between a marijuana bud and a hemp flower. Trained drug dogs can't even tell the difference, according to Wall, which poses a significant problem for officers and civilians alike who aren't educated on the difference between the plants.

Lack of education is what led to Operation Candy Crush, Wall said, referring the failed drug sting where local business owners were illegally arrested for selling CBD products.

"It was a ginormous error facilitated by lack of education," Wall said.

Hemp is found in popular products containing CBD oil which is advertised as having broad but often unverified health benefits.

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Hemp industry 'is here to stay'

Mark Case, who works alongside Case at the processing plant and manages the daily grind, said that the pair take significant pride in how they manage their hemp.

"We believe the industry is here to stay for a long time," Wall said.

Benmar hopes to expand its business soon, with plans to up their production to processing three tons of hemp daily. Currently, they process several hundred pounds.

The increase in business is likely as farms that have historically grown tobacco are making the switch to hemp. Tobacco profits are decreasing and the market for hemp is expanding.

Kyle Owen, of Carthage, harvested his first hemp crop last fall. He is the third largest hemp grower in Tennessee, having planted about 250 acres of fiber hemp alongside 300 acres of tobacco.

“I’m proud that I jumped out on a limb and tried it,” Owen told USA TODAY NETWORK-Tennessee in November. “And, to be honest with you, when I stand here and think about it, I’ve got high hopes of a future in it. Hopefully, it’s not a fad.”

Owen said he plans to convert two-thirds of his tobacco farm to CBD hemp. While CBD hemp is required more labor and more money, it stands to be more profitable than tobacco.

Growing hemp in Tennessee, though restricted, has been legal since 2015, when a pilot program was launched in 2015. Monitored by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, the program has expanded yearly. Now more than 220 farmers are growing hemp on more than 3,400 acres of land across the state.

State records show that most licensed hemp growers are small hobbyists with small farms. However, commercial-scale hemp farming is rising rapidly, partially because the tobacco farmers are being recruited.

Case, who helps host educational talks on hemp, hopes he can lend a hand to officers in the region when it comes to understanding the ever-changing landscape of hemp legality. He said he's worked closely with county leaders who have toured the facility, and hope to educate the public on hemp.

More:Tennessee hemp farming is budding. Are farmers ready?

Hemp in Tennessee: Farmers grew tobacco for decades. Now, they grow hemp. Someday, maybe, marijuana.

Brett Kelman contributed to this report.

What do you think of the hemp and CBD boom in Murfreesboro? Reach Brinley Hineman at bhineman@gannett.com and on Twitter @brinleyhineman.