PIERRE, S.D. (WNAX) – Some sharp differences over industrial hemp were expressed during a legislative hearing.
The second meeting of the Industrial Hemp Study committee of the South Dakota legislature was held yesterday in Pierre.
Craig Price, Secretary of the Department of Public Safety, said industrial hemp would put more strain on law enforcement.
Price says it’s difficult for officers in the field to tell the difference between hemp and marijuana.
Representative Oren Lesmeister of Parade, a supporter of industrial hemp, says state officials didn’t offer any positive suggestions.
The committee will meet again next month in the hopes of writing a bill that could pass the 2020 legislature and avoid a veto from Governor Kristi Noem.