Seemingly endless rows of green, leafy plants are tucked away in a greenhouse in Christian County, Kentucky.
A dream that Katie Moyer had in 2014 eventually turned into a full-fledged company.
Known as Kentucky Hemp Works, it’s a farm-to-table operation that centers around Hemp.
“I never expected to be doing this for a living,” Moyer told News 2. “Initially, when I started making products, it was just some tinkering in the kitchen to see what we could do.”
Moyer said the products derived from Hemp can be used to soothe pain, inflammation, anxiety and seizures while also providing some relief from arthritis, PTSD, depression, epilepsy and chronic pain.
The plants meet the legal requirement for hemp which is less than 0.3% THC, which is the chemical compound is cannabis responsible for a euphoric high.
“You could ingest this entire plant,” Moyer explained. “You could have it in your salad. You could chop it all up and eat the entire thing. It’s not gonna get you high.”
“There’s no psychoactive ingredient in this at all,” said Kendal Clark, the farmer who raises crops for the company. “We’ve ignored this plant for 75 years, and I think when we start paying attention to it, I think there will be a lot of new products developed out of it.”
Some of the plants used to produce Kentucky Hemp Works products started from the same four plants. They are all genetically the same and they are all female.
Moyer said that ensures that “every plant is going to produce the same levels of different compounds” like THC.
In 2014, the U.S. government passed the Federal Farm Bill which allowed State Departments of Agriculture and universities to grow, process and study hemp.
Hemp is still labeled a controlled substance and that’s something Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky is working to change.
“Removing hemp from the list completely, that would erase any of the doubt whatsoever as to the legality of it,” Moyer said.
As for those who oppose Hemp use, Moyer said it’s rooted in some confusion over the difference between Hemp and marijuana.
“I often kind of think about Hemp as medical marijuana without the high,” Moyer said.
Once any legal issues are out of the way, Moyer said it will clear the way for more companies like Kentucky Hemp Works to pop up around Kentucky, Tennessee and the rest of the country.
