By Marina Villeneuve, The Associated Press
AUGUSTA, Maine - So far, only the Passamaquoddy Tribe and a Portland resident have applied to grow what would be the state's first-ever licensed crops of industrial hemp.
They're setting off into unknown territory in Maine at a time when federal law prohibits commercial hemp cultivation.
Republican Rep. Deborah Sanderson, of Chelsea, and Benedicta farmer Glenn Lane, both behind the push to legalize hemp farming in Maine last summer, now say the state's been slowing down efforts to get the crop going.
But a spokesman for Maine's agriculture department says the rule-making process went relatively quickly for such a complicated issue, and that the major impediment has been federal law.
University of Maine Extension Professor John Jemison said this fall, he plans to seek a federal Drug Enforcement Administration permit to research hemp.
