JEFFERSON CITY, MO, SEPT. 18, 2019 – Local historian and educator Chris W. Nelson will present the free program "Kicking Off Two Hundred Years of Hemp in Arrow Rock" at Arrow Rock State Historic Site at 10 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 5. Nelson will speak about the controversial crop's intriguing history, its impact on the 19th-century economy of central Missouri, and ongoing research into this plant's potential for commercial and industrial uses well beyond its notorious use as a recreational drug.
Recent legislation in Missouri exempts industrial hemp from the definition of marijuana and the list of controlled substances and creates an Industrial Hemp Pilot Program to be implemented by the Missouri Department of Agriculture.
Arrow Rock State Historic Site is located north of Interstate 70 and west of Columbia at 39521 Visitor Center Drive, in Arrow Rock. For more information about the event, call the site at 660-837-3330.
For more information on state parks and historic sites, visit the web at https://mostateparks.com. Missouri State Parks is a division of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.