State rep. hoping to bring industrial hemp back to Wisconsin

State was biggest commercial producer of hemp during WWII era.

Wisconsin could return to some of its hemp glory of yesteryear.

Maybe a little beyond that, too, says Republican state rep. Jesse Kremer, who is pushing a proposal in Madison that would legalize the manufacture of industrial hemp products.

“By reintroducing it into the state, it’s infused some needed relief to our agricultural sector,” Kremer said. “And, at the same time, creates brand new industry, high-tech industry and new jobs, quite frankly.”

Kremer went on to list all its benefits.

“There are tons of applications that industrial hemp is used for,” he said. “Plastics in car panels. It’s being used in insulation. It can help strengthen concrete. It’s replacing Kevlar in bulletproof vests.

“Once you break down the stalk, the fibers are actually stronger than carbon fiber.”

The state would still need the feds to declassify industrial hemp as a drug, as Kremer hopes to have Wisconsin ready.

“This is something we’re paving the way for … and Wisconsin’s going to be ripe and ready to go setting up processing plants and a whole new tech center here,” he said.

Hemp, a form of cannabis,  has been lumped in with marijuana and scheduled as a narcotic since 1970. 

During World War II, Wisconsin was by far the biggest commercial hemp producer in the nation.