(LEX 18) — Last week, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell proposed the Hemp Farming Act of 2018, which would legalize industrial hemp nationally. The bill will go up for debate Wednesday.
Kentucky is among just a few states that became part of the hemp pilot program after it was legalized in the 2014 farm bill.
McConnell ensures that the Hemp Farm Bill includes the legalization of industrial hemp and removes it from the list of controlled substances.
"I would love nothing more than the opportunity to sit down with the senator, even a representative from the senator, to find out what the end game is," said veteran Benjamin Minton.
Minton is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force. He was medically discharged in 2005. After leaving the Air Force, he was diagnosed with PTSD and other traumatic injuries. Now, he is a patient of Warfighter Hemp Oil Products, which he says changed his life.
"Warfighter Hemp, the good Lord above, and my wife and son are the only reasons I’m standing here today," he told LEX 18. "I know it works, I know it helps, and I know it can help save another life."
Kentucky leads the nation in hemp production, and Minton said that veterans are demanding the reclassification of hemp. If it is removed from the controlled substance list, the VA can legally research and test it, with hopes that it can be prescribed to veterans in the future.
"Education right now is our biggest ally. Educating the public, the naysayers who say it doesn’t have any medicinal value. I’m here to tell you today, you’re wrong," said Minton.
