Western Eligible for Hemp Research

The Western Courier

Western Illinois University, along with any other Illinois universities that have four-year degree agricultural programs, will become eligible to grow industrial hemp for research purposes.

Illinois’ previous governor, Patt Quinn, signed HB 5085 on Aug. 26, 2014, which is the bill that allows this to go into effect. 

Andrew Baker, director and professor of agriculture education at Western, said now that there’s a new governor in office, it’s hard to say what will happen in Illinois regarding hemp research.

http://www.westerncourier.com/news/western-eligible-for-hemp-research/article_c87ab826-a8cc-11e4-90bb-2b93bba7996c.html 

Hemp research legalized for Illinois universities

The Daily Illini

Four universities within Illinois, including the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, will soon be able to grow hemp for research purposes, thanks to a new Illinois law, HB 5085.

The law, effective Jan. 1, allows universities, which are registered with the Illinois Department of Agriculture, to cultivate hemp for academic research purposes and must study the hemp’s growth, cultivation or marketing. The other elligible universities are Illinois State University, Southern Illinois University and Western Illinois University.
http://www.dailyillini.com/news/article_5db0e2b2-a03a-11e4-ac9a-dfbd67eb7be0.html