Under the measure, the legislature would institute a pilot program permitting farmers to cultivate hemp in four California counties: Imperial, Kings, Mendocino, and Yolo. The proposal defines hemp as varieties of cannabis containing less than 0.3 percent THC (the primary psychoactive compound in marijuana). Farmers would be required by law to submit random samples of their plants to an authorized laboratory to assure that their crop does not contain greater THC potencies.

Industrial hemp is currently grown commercially in Canada and in the European Union for its fiber content. According to a 2005 Congressional Research Service (CRS) report, the United States is the only developed nation that fails to cultivate the plant as an economic crop.

Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed a similar bill last year, citing concerns that the measure could negatively impact law enforcement efforts prohibiting the recreational use of marijuana.

A statewide telephone poll performed earlier this year by Zogby International found that 71 percent of Californians supported allowing authorized farmers legal access to cultivate the crop.