United States: Senate releases 500000$ to preserve hemp genetics

A panel of U.S. senators voted to allocate $500,000 to fund a federal hemp genetic resource bank, in response to the plant’s growing popularity and decades of biological ignorance fueled by prohibition.

«The Committee recognizes the growing demand for industrial hemp for various uses, and its importance as a crop for American farmers,» the senators wrote in the report according to Forbes. Hemp genetic material was destroyed in the 1980s, and researchers lost access to the genetic material available for plant reproduction.«

With more knowledge about the plant itself, American agricultural experts support that a strategic seed bank would help advance hemp cultivation into a true investment.

«The shortage of high-quality hemp seeds is a barrier to the development of a U.S. hemp industry,» said Eric Steenstra, president of the advocacy group Vote Hemp. We are extremely pleased that Congress is providing funding for the USDA to once again collect and store hemp genetics and make them available to American farmers and researchers.«

In the United States, hemp cultivation is still prohibited at the federal level. Since 2014, many states have rehabilitated this ancient crop under pilot research programs. The rise of CBD has rekindled interest in hemp., which is not limited to a single molecule though. A bill to legalize hemp cultivation has moreover was filed in April.