No, hemp is not marijuana. Yes, many farmers want to grow it. And those farming on land protected by the state Agricultural Preservation Restriction program should have that opportunity — the same as those growing on land not in the program.

Currently, a spending bill at the state level includes a provision that would allow hemp to be farmed on APR-protected land. As the law now stands, it is not allowed.

Hemp used to be banned because it is related to marijuana. But when Massachusetts voters legalized marijuana in 2016, it also legalized hemp farming.

Hemp and marijuana come from the same cannabis species but are genetically distinct in their chemical makeup and cultivation methods. Hemp can be grown in a field and not under lock and key like marijuana, although commercial growers need a state license.

The plant is used to make a variety of products, including rope, textiles, clothing, shoes, food, paper, bioplastics, insulation and biofuel. Its seeds and flowers are used in health foods, organic body care and cannabidiol, also known as CBD, which many believe has health benefits.

Hemp is not ingested to get high like marijuana.

Even the feds figured out the difference. The federal Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 recognized hemp as separate from marijuana and removed it from the federal Controlled Substances Act.

The APR program, which began over 40 years ago, aims to keep farming viable by paying farmland owners for the property’s development rights. A permanent deed restriction comes with that deal to guarantee the land is only used for agricultural purposes.

The program has kept thousands of acres in farming. In Franklin County, the total acreage is over 15,000.

State law allows these crops to be grown: fruits, vegetables, berries, nuts and other foods for human consumption, feed for animals, tobacco, flower, sod, trees, nursery or greenhouse products, as well as ornamental plants and shrubs for sale. The bill, if passed, would add hemp to the list.

For farmers in the APR program, growing hemp would enable them to broaden their market and expand their crops.

Last year, the Hemp Industries Association estimated the total retail value of all hemp products sold in the U.S. at $620 million. We’d like farmers to be able to tap into that market.

As state Rep. Natalie Blais, D-Sunderland, said, “Our farmers are incredibly successful when they diversify their crops.”

Local legislators plus the state Department of Agricultural Resources and the Farm Bureau support adding hemp to the state law defining approved uses on such protected land.

So do we.

And we would like the change to be approved quickly so farmers can begin planting this spring.