Hemp Supporters Ratcheting Up Pressure

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Industrial hemp supporters are ratcheting up the pressure to force a vote on a stalled bill that would allow farmers in Kentucky to grow the crop if federal ban is lifted.

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A group led by state Agriculture Commissioner James Comer on Thursday urged House Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom McKee to allow a vote on the bill.

The group included Brian Furnish, a prominent northern Kentucky tobacco farmer who lives in McKee's district.

Furnish, a Republican, warned that the Cynthiana Democrat will face a strong challenge in the next election if McKee stifles the hemp bill. Furnish is no stranger to Frankfort as a member of the state's hemp commission who was also once an agriculture adviser to former Gov. Ernie Fletcher.

Furnish declined to say if he would personally challenge McKee.