Kentucky Takes DEA to Court Over 'Illegal' Hemp Seed Seizure

Kentucky officials say the Drug Enforcement Administration is breaking the law in an attempt to illegally ruin the state’s industrial hemp pilot program. The Bluegrass State legalized industrial hemp in 2013 and the federal farm bill signed by President Barack Obama in February allows states to grow it for research. Industrial hemp superficially resembles marijuana, but has much lower concentrations of psychoactive THC. It’s been used for centuries for making rope, clothes and other items, but growing it was illegal for decades in the U.S. Earlier this month, the DEA seized 250 pounds of hemp seeds en route to the University of Kentucky from Italy. The package was first flagged by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. “It’s ridiculous, if hemp is not being grown in the United States, how are we going to grow it without seeds?” Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., tells U.S. News. “You can buy a granola bar – in whichever city you’re in – with hemp seeds on it. Everything made of hemp is legal to bring into this country.” Massie introduced the hemp amendment to the farm bill’s House version, alongside Reps. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., and Jared Polis, D-Colo. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., championed the hemp provision in the upper chamber and said in a Thursday statement the DEA’s actions are “an outrage.”...more