FRANKFORT, Ky. — The production of industrial hemp took another step toward reality this month with the introduction of legislation into the U.S. House that would remove hemp from the Controlled Substances list.

U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) cosponsored the bill with Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.). The Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2015 (H.R. 525) amends the Controlled Substances Act to exclude industrial hemp from the definition of marijuana, according to Massie’s office.

Adam Watson, the Industrial Hemp Program coordinator for the Kentucky Department of Agriculture (KDA), said this bill would change the status of hemp in the federal government, something that needs to happen before true hemp production can continue.

“While we are doing our research, long-term viability will require that change at the federal level,” he said.

The 2014 farm bill made provisions for hemp research in states that had some type of legislation regarding production of the crop. But it fell short of allowing full-scale production mainly because of hemp’s status as a controlled substance. Massie thinks passage of the bill would eliminate the last big obstacle in getting hemp back as a legal production crop.

“I believe this is the last legislative hurdle we need to clear before we can do full-scale industrial hemp in Kentucky,” he said. “I’m really excited about the progress that we’re making on this hemp issue. The American people are there, it’s just the Congress that’s lagging behind.”

Massie said the movement is picking up support as more of his colleagues are cosponsoring legislation, noting it is a sign Congressional awareness is catching up with public awareness.

Even if this bill passes, Watson said there will still be issues to get through before farmers will be planting hemp as a viable crop. “We may have to revisit statutes at the state level to see if they still correspond to the facts on hand. I think those statutes would be reviewed and probably reevaluated,” he said.

“We’ve seen, with the passage of the farm bill, some states that had previously passed certain industrial hemp legislation, have to come back and revise it to better suit the scenario.”

Another issue to contend with is processing. Watson said farmers can’t grow it if there is no place to sell it. But the interest is there. Along with those who recently signed up to participate in research growing, several processors also applied to take the hemp being grown and work with it from the marketing side. Watson said 326 applications were received from both growers and processors.

“We feel like we had a very good response and there are definitely a lot of processors in there,” he said. “Last year we had over 200, but we made a point to get the application release out to the media as much as possible so people would know about it.” He added the reality of all this is, farmers have to have a market to really get on board.

“If a market is not in place, although there may be the opportunity to grow it, I think a lot of professional farmers may not jump in yet,” he said. “That processing, value adding past the farm gate, is what’s going to make or break the industrial hemp industry moving forward.”

Massie thinks with legislative risks out of the way, investment money will flow to commercial-scale hemp programs. “If I were a businessman, I would not undertake a project or an endeavor that required a temporary suspension of the law or some administrative waiver,” he said. “I would want to know that it was permanent law. I think they’ll have that confidence when we get this passed into permanent law.”

He feels industrial hemp will create a great deal of jobs and economic impact. “This is significant. The market’s going to be in the hundreds of millions, not the tens of millions, and the jobs, I think, are going to be in the thousands and not in the hundreds. I’m more convinced that we can get this done than I ever have been.”

A Senate version of the bill has also been introduced by U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley (both D-Ore.), and Kentucky Republicans Rand Paul and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.