The Missouri House Agriculture Policy Committee has approved Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Brian Munzlinger’s legislation that would create an industrial hemp pilot program in Missouri.
Tuesday’s bipartisan vote was 11-2, and the Williamstown Republican tells Missourinet he’s optimistic.
Munzlinger is referring to World War II. Both chambers have already approved industrial hemp bills, but only the House version contained language that the Missouri Highway Patrol “may perform aerial surveillance” to ensure that marijuana plants are not being cultivated near industrial hemp. The House Ag Policy Committee approved an amendment yesterday adding that provision, which Munzlinger supports.
A southern Missouri food/health company called “Beyond Organics” supports the bill. Lobbyist Brian Grace tells lawmakers that Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Brian Munzlinger’s bill allows Missouri to capitalize on the ag component of hemp.
While Grace testifies the bill is NOT a “steppingstone to legalizing marijuana,” retired Missouri state trooper Ed Moses tells the committee there have been shootings and “other criminal behavior” in Kentucky hemp fields.
