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GOP Senator Shares Photo Of His Dad Harvesting Hemp Decades Ago

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A U.S. senator appears to be taking a hit at the governor of his home state over a disagreement on hemp legalization, and he’s using a decades-old picture of his own father growing the crop to do it.

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) shared a photo on Facebook last month showing his dad harvesting the crop in South Dakota about 80 years ago. While it might seem benign, some political observers believe the post was a subtle dig at Gov. Kristi Noem (R), who vetoed legislation earlier this year to re-legalize industrial hemp in the state.

The senator referenced the picture during a telephone town hall event, where he was asked about the potential of hemp in the textile industry. Rounds said the plant was used to make ropes for the Navy during World War II.

“It’s of my dad (Grandpa Don, left) as a young boy working in a South Dakota hemp field,” he wrote of the photo. “We believe it was taken sometime in the late 1930s/early 1940s.”

The implication seems to be that the crop has a long history in South Dakota and that generations have relied on it prior for its federal prohibition. But even after hemp and its derivatives were federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill, Noem has maintained that it should remain criminalized under state law.

The Argus Leader first connected the Facebook post with Noem’s hemp opposition.

Marijuana Moment reached out to Rounds’s office for comment, but a representative was not immediately available.

In March, the governor rejected legislation that arrived on her desk to legalize industrial hemp, arguing that the reform move would pave the path toward legalization of adult-use marijuana. The Senate didn’t have enough support to override the veto.

Lawmakers have said they plan to introduce similar legislation next year, but Noem pledged in September to veto it again.

As far as Rounds is concerned, South Dakota should be allowed to experiment with industrial hemp. He told the Sioux City Journal last month that “I personally don’t see a problem with at least trying it” and he voted in favor of the Farm Bill last year.

Despite Noem’s opposition to the non-intoxicating form of cannabis, activists in the state are moving ahead with efforts to more broadly legalize marijuana for medical and recreational purposes. Signatures on two reform initiatives were submitted to the secretary of state last month and, once verified, the issues are expected to be decided by voters during next year’s election.

Both measures are being backed by national advocacy groups, and the adult-use legalization proposal is being sponsored by a former federal prosecutor.

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Kyle Jaeger is Marijuana Moment's Sacramento-based managing editor. His work has also appeared in High Times, VICE and attn.

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