Legalizing hemp in South Dakota continues to be a hot topic in Pierre.

Some lawmakers have spent the summer studying the economic impacts of the production and sale of the crop and some of the challenges for law enforcement.

Monday they got to hear from officials in other states who have already implemented industrial hemp in their states, but for some on the committee studying its uses, they still have questions; especially on how some states are using the oils from it for medicinal uses.

“That’s the part that worries me and that’s the part that kind of gets us into trouble with putting together laws we want to be really careful bout how we put together the laws for farming hemp,” Republican Representative Nancy York of Watertown said.

“Hemp is here whether we are legal here in South Dakota or not we’re transporting it through our state it’s already happened, and it will some more, and I hope we have the opportunity to grow it, and produce it and process it ourselves,” Democrat Representative Oren Lesmeister of Parade, SD said.

The committee meets in early October. The goal they say is to have some draft legislation ready and hope the U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued its rules for industrial hemp growers by then.