Gov. Abbott signs bill allowing farmers in Texas to grow hemp

AUSTIN, Texas — On Monday, Gov. Greg Abbott signed HB 1325 into law, allowing farmers in Texas to grow hemp.

The bill, which passed both the Texas House and Senate unanimously, will allow for a federally-approved program for Texas farmers to grow hemp as a crop, including procedures for sampling, inspection and testing.

Hemp and marijuana both come from the same cannabis plant family, but hemp has lower levels of THC, essentially the part of marijuana that causes a high.

The federal government allowed for the growing of hemp in December 2018.

The earliest Texas farmers could start growing hemp would come in 2020, after the federal government establishes regulations.