I have never written a letter to the editor. Maybe I have never felt this passionate before, but after attending Moral Monday, I feel compelled to.

It’s not that I didn’t agree with what was being said. I absolutely do. The fact that North Carolina legislators need to do more for their citizens is more than apparent. Teachers and students need adequate funding. If not, their difficult jobs become even tougher. I should know since I am a teacher.

Medicaid is a social service that keeps people from falling through the cracks of the healthcare system.

Fracking is a threat to us all. When explaining what fracking is to my 7-year-old son, his reply was, “Don’t they (oil companies) know that they have to live here, too?”

The list of concerns/grievances can go, but one solution to these problems was not mentioned: hemp! Hemp is a sustainable agricultural source that could empower farmers, bring back industry and create revenue. I have been following the progress of other states after the passage by Congress of the 2014 Farm Bill, and they are achieving results regarding hemp that are leaps and bounds beyond North Carolina.

I recently got to see hemp growing in Kentucky this summer. Some of our closest neighbors — Tennessee and South Carolina — have approved legislation that will get hemp growing in their states next year, and those are just two examples. I could go on and on.

The point is I want legislators in North Carolina to stand up and become champions for hemp and the positive potential it has for our state.

Hemp should not be added to the list of why North Carolina could do better.

Claudia Townsend

Black Mountain