Mitch McConnell renews push to legalize industrial hemp

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he will introduce a bill removing hemp from the federal government’s schedule of controlled substances, renewing an effort that has gotten some bipartisan support in recent years — including from McConnell, though never quite so enthusiastically.

“Hemp has played a foundational role in Kentucky’s agricultural heritage, and I believe that it can be an important part of our future,” McConnell said in a statement released by his office. He announced the imminent filing of the bill in Frankfort, the state capital, alongside Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles.