When it comes to the cannabis plant, there is a gray area that Omaha State Senator Justin Wayne wants to clear up.
Wayne was a guest on KFAB's Chris Baker Show Monday afternoon and says he plans to introduce two bills that would benefit the production of industrial hemp in Nebraska. He says decades ago, marijuana, the plant that contains THC and industrial hemp, a plant that has little to none, were placed under the same codes. There has been much research done over the past 20 or 30 years that have many health benefits that include CBD oil and cream. Those products contain no THC and people cannot misuse them to get high.
Wayne says those codes have to be modernized for today's world. He says, "We are going to try to remove CBD oil from the state statutes. There are still some issues federally but from the state statutes. We are also going to introduce a bill that would allow farmers to grow hemp. A little secret about Nebraska is that if you drive up and down Nebraska you will see plenty of industrial hemp that his higher than fiber, depending on the strand. Nebraska in the 1920's and during WWII, we had more hemp per-acre than any other state in the nation but because it was a cannabis plant the federal government decided we had to get rid of all cannabis. Instead of taking a look at the issue they just outlawed it all and so did the states."
The CBD oil that would be allowed in Nebraska would contain less than .03% THC. Wayne says if you used it all day you wouldn't be able to get high by using it. He says studies have shown that CBD oil helps with PTSD, anxiety, inflammation and pain.
There is word that Attorney General Doug Peterson wants all cannabis to remain illegal. Wayne says, "That is what he is saying. It is hard to distinguish the two. I can go to Costco and get hemp hearts which is a healthy fiber and protein but CBD oils is somehow illegal. It is that confusing language or opinion from the Attorney General is making this market hard to grow."