Australian farmers to be given the green light to grow hemp


Jessica Campanaro

http://www.livenews.com.au/Articles/...t_to_grow_hemp

Farmers in New South Wales could soon be given the green light to grow hemp.

The state's first legal hemp crop has been approved by police and will contain only small amounts of the chemical in marijuana.

The backflip goes against the government’s decade long stance to introduce new laws allowing farmers to grow hemp for its oil and fibres.

The first legal farm that's been granted permission by police will begin growing cannabis later this year in the hopes it will pave the way for a new hemp industry in Australia.

NSW Primary Industries minister Ian Macdonald says hemp can be used to make a number of useful goods.

“It can be used for textiles, building products, especially in masonry for buildings, insulation, durable yarn, paper products.”