A week ago, U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie introduced federal legislation that would require the federal government to respect state laws allowing the growing of industrial hemp.

The movement to allow the growing of hemp -- a cousin of the marijuana plant that yields a fraction of the THC -- is growing, even among conservative lawmakers, who see the economic sense of allowing hemp to be grown in the U.S.

Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, is proposing the Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2013 because it would allow farmers in his state to grow hemp in place of tobacco, a crop that is becoming less viable. The act, HR 525, would exclude industrial hemp from the definition of marijuana.

Hemp already is grown in other western nations, such as Canada, which exports hemp products to the U.S. Hemp-based products include paper, lotions, clothing, canvas and rope. The plant can be converted into renewable biofuels more efficiently than corn or switch grass, according to Massie.

Should Massie be successful in his effort, U.S. farmers would be able to grow hemp legally for the first time since 1957.

The plant's relation to marijuana continues to be a stumbling block for legalization. Drug enforcement agencies are concerned that because the crops are similar in appearance, aerial surveillance of illegal grows will become more difficult.

That is something Congress should address. The goal of this bill is not to create a cover for marijuana cultivation. Perhaps there would be a way to trace hemp crops to see that they are sold as hemp.

But lawmakers should listen to Massie, who is a farmer, and find a way to make hemp cultivation legal again in the United States. If Americans are buying hemp-based products, they might as well have the option of buying American grown and made.