RALEIGH, N.C. — It appears North Carolina’s hemp industry will avoid a shutdown.
Governor Cooper made the following statement on SB 455:
"Agriculture is North Carolina’s largest industry and giving North Carolina farmers certainty that they can continue to participate in this growing market is the right thing to do for rural communities and our economy."
He signed the bill into law.
The General Assembly gave its final approval Wednesday to legislation that makes its products permanently exempt from the state’s controlled substances law. The Senate voted for a House measure that keeps lawful the production and sale of industrial hemp and products derived from hemp like CBD.
North Carolina’s industrial hemp program began as a pilot several years ago and is now operated through a federal production program.
Without the legislation, the products would have become illegal later this week.
