Launched in 2015 by faculty from the Departments of Biology and Engineering, James Madison University’s Industrial Hemp Research Program coordinates university expertise toward laboratory research, field-based experiments, and a wide variety of community outreach and education activities. JMU collaborates with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS), university researchers, growers, processors, economic development organizations, and legislative officials and their staffs to advance an industrial hemp economy in the Commonwealth.

For a brief overview of industrial hemp, visit the March 2019 Congressional Research Service (CRS) Report – Defining Hemp: A Fact Sheet.