ASHEBORO — City officials approved a zoning permit for what may be the first hemp food processing plant in North Carolina.

RALEIGH -  The state commission charged with fostering an industrial hemp industry in North Carolina is considering joining a lawsuit against a government agency that it agrees is making things difficult: the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

RALEIGH -  The state commission charged with fostering an industrial hemp industry in North Carolina is considering joining a lawsuit against a government agency that it agrees is making things difficult: the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

After a successful first year growing industrial hemp, the North Dakota Department of Agriculture is seeking producers for year two.

After a successful first year growing industrial hemp, the North Dakota Department of Agriculture is seeking producers for year two.

BISMARCK — The 2014 Farm Bill allowed for universities and state departments of agriculture to create pilot programs for the growing of industrial hemp. But it didn’t change the Controlled Substances Act or make hemp completely legal.

BISMARCK — The 2014 Farm Bill allowed for universities and state departments of agriculture to create pilot programs for the growing of industrial hemp. But it didn’t change the Controlled Substances Act or make hemp completely legal.

The state will receive a total of 84,250 pounds of industrial hemp seed this year with seed distributed in 50-pound bags.

The state will receive a total of 84,250 pounds of industrial hemp seed this year with seed distributed in 50-pound bags.

BISMARCK, N.D. - North Dakota's first crop of industrial hemp is showing promise, with returns better than a lot of other commodities.

BISMARCK, N.D. - North Dakota's first crop of industrial hemp is showing promise, with returns better than a lot of other commodities.

Although hemp is illegal at a federal level, 13 states have jumped on board the hemp train, and for good reason.

In Kentucky, the University of Louisville's Conn Center for Renewable Energy Research has started growing industrial hemp in an effort to spur its fuels and manufacturing research.

LINCOLN — Hemp may grow wild across Nebraska, but if you want to make clothing or other products out of the industrial cousin of marijuana, you’ll have to buy it cultivated from Canada.

LINCOLN — Hemp may grow wild across Nebraska, but if you want to make clothing or other products out of the industrial cousin of marijuana, you’ll have to buy it cultivated from Canada.

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Real-world research in more than a dozen states in recent years is giving farmers new understanding of how to grow industrial hemp and showing that it has promise to be a viable commercial crop in the U.S.

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Real-world research in more than a dozen states in recent years is giving farmers new understanding of how to grow industrial hemp and showing that it has promise to be a viable commercial crop in the U.S.

Pennsylvania farmers are being invited to participate in a Hemp Pilot Research program that will contribute toward a better understanding of what could be a new cash crop in the commonwealth.

Industrial hemp gets a bad rap, advocates say.

Industrial hemp gets a bad rap, advocates say.

The pilot research program comes as state officials try to make sense of contradictory federal law.

The pilot research program comes as state officials try to make sense of contradictory federal law.

Textile mills in regions such as Western North Carolina lie dormant while Americans import about $500 million worth of hemp annually.

Textile mills in regions such as Western North Carolina lie dormant while Americans import about $500 million worth of hemp annually.

FLORENCE, SC (WBTW) – Several state legislators want to legalize a crop they say could help farmers still reeling from flood damage.

ELGIN, N.D. – Out in a field that can be viewed from the windows of a farmhouse in southwestern North Dakota, Clarence Laub III, finished seeding his industrial hemp crop on June 1.

COLUMBIA — A bill allowing the growth of industrial hemp has cleared the Senate and is expected to be accepted by the House this week, lining South Carolina farmers up to begin planting the crop before the year is out.

COLUMBIA — A bill allowing the growth of industrial hemp has cleared the Senate and is expected to be accepted by the House this week, lining South Carolina farmers up to begin planting the crop before the year is out.

Lost to most in the flurry of legislation at the end of the South Carolina General Assembly’s session earlier this month was a bill legalizing the growth of industrial hemp. Not pot, but hemp.

Lost to most in the flurry of legislation at the end of the South Carolina General Assembly’s session earlier this month was a bill legalizing the growth of industrial hemp. Not pot, but hemp.

Could Iowa soon see a new cash crop, among our fields of corn and soybeans? The big topic at the State Capitol Monday was hemp.

Could Iowa soon see a new cash crop, among our fields of corn and soybeans? The big topic at the State Capitol Monday was hemp.

Pennsylvania farmers are being invited to participate in a Hemp Pilot Research program that will contribute toward a better understanding of what could be a new cash crop in the commonwealth.

The fourth annual NoCo Hemp Expo this past weekend featured more than 130 vendors and 60 speakers, all sharing information about this amazing plant.

It's a plant shrouded in stereotypes and stigmas, but for one Tennessee couple, hemp has provided a new opportunity for business after a family trip nearly turned to tragedy.

A report released in May showed that nationwide, retail sales for hemp products in 2015 reached $575 million, which was a more than 10 percent increase from the prior year.

It is an opportunity to learn about all things hemp and cannabis related including growing, harvesting, medicinal uses and legislation.

Cannabis is legally grown in Nebraska except the garden serves a much different purpose from the typical assumption.

Cannabis is legally grown in Nebraska except the garden serves a much different purpose from the typical assumption.

After months of paperwork and navigating bureaucratic red tape, University of Nebraska-Lincoln researchers have planted their first crop of legal hemp.

After months of paperwork and navigating bureaucratic red tape, University of Nebraska-Lincoln researchers have planted their first crop of legal hemp.

ALBANY — The state's first legal hemp crop in more than 70 years is thriving on 30 fertile acres of upstate New York, and demand is building for its seeds and stalks.

Previously, there was no official mechanism for Vermont's hemp growers to have their product tested, though many industrial growers have labs to test their crop or have it sent to third-party labs for testing.

Previously, there was no official mechanism for Vermont's hemp growers to have their product tested, though many industrial growers have labs to test their crop or have it sent to third-party labs for testing.

Over a year after the Virginia General Assembly passed a bill allowing certain institutions to grow hemp, seeds finally went into the ground this summer at Virginia Tech.

Over a year after the Virginia General Assembly passed a bill allowing certain institutions to grow hemp, seeds finally went into the ground this summer at Virginia Tech.

New York is now open for hemp growers. At least, it's open to 10 hemp growers.

New York is now open for hemp growers. At least, it's open to 10 hemp growers.

Washington’s hemp coordinator says she’s optimistic growers will plant the crop next year, though obtaining seeds depends on approval from a federal drug enforcement agency that still classifies hemp on a par with heroin.

PARKERSBURG, W.Va. (AP) — The half-acre plot of fledgling plants along a hillside at Cedar Lane Farm puts into perspective the return of hemp to West Virginia soil — a resistance-riddled movement struggling to rise out of infancy.