Alva Review-Courier -

HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — The process of establishing a new commercial hemp program in Kansas has taken a critical first step.

The Hutchinson News reports that the U.S. Department of Agriculture approved the plan by the Kansas Department of Agriculture to change the state's research-based commercial hemp program to a commercial program.

This approval makes it possible for farmers to grow hemp without being under the umbrella of a research program. Once this program is approved by the state, farmers will not have to make formal research proposals in order to grow the non-hallucinogenic crop.

But...