Hemp in South Dakota, A History
In 2019 South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem vetoed a popular bill in South Dakota to legalize the cultivation of industrial hemp. At the time she famously said that South Dakota was “not ready.” But just over one hundred years ago, a South Dakota Governor would beg Washington and the private sector for help getting an emergency hemp industry started in the state. The Story of how hemp went from commodity, to odity, to war hero, to menace to children, to war hero again, to menace, to a cash crop of the future is next. LISTEN HERE Transcript Although cannabis as a drug and industrial hemp both derive from the species Cannabis sativa and contain the psychoactive component tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), they are distinct strains with unique phytochemical compositions and uses. Hemp has lower concentrations of THC and higher concentrations of cannabidiol (CBD), which decreases or eliminates its psychoactive effects. However, for the purposes of this story these two plants are going to of