KJZZ is a service of Rio Salado College,
and Maricopa Community Colleges

Copyright © 2025 KJZZ/Rio Salado College/MCCCD
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

State Lawmaker Wants To Legalize Growing Hemp

Arizona could make a lot more money if lawmakers legalized growing hemp for textile sales.

That’s the rationale Republican State Representative Sonny Borrelli made over a bill he proposed that could change the state criminal code and classify hemp separately from marijuana.

On Wednesday, Borrelli told fellow lawmakers who are worried about hemp's relation to marijuana, "You could smoke a whole rope, you're not going to get high," he said, then advised not smoking it at all, "You'll die of smoke inhalation and other complications."
 
It’s not that simple, said Deputy Pima County Attorney Kathleen Mayer. For one, she explained, it’s difficult for police to immediately determine whether it’s hemp or its cannabis when the weed is dried.

Holliday Moore was a reporter at KJZZ from 2017 to 2020.