WOODBURN, Ore. -- Ken Iverson says his family never thought they'd grow hemp next to their tulips.
But when their father got sick, they said CBD oil from the plant helped his quality of life.
“It went from one morning picking him out of bed almost like a deadlift and him saying, 'I’m sorry I don't know what to do with my feet' to a day and a half later we check on him and he's sitting at the breakfast table eating breakfast," Iverson said.
This will be their third year growing hemp.
“As we started to grow we realized this was a whole new industry and we had to figure out extraction and things like that,” Iverson said.
They discovered a road block with national laws.
“You really can't ship it interstate. Then you have the issues with banking. Any industry that regulates on a federal basis,” Iverson said.
Senator Ron Wyden met with hemp industry leaders at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm and toured the CBD processing plant.
He says the national laws against farmers growing hemp are antiquated.
“Canada and China must have been laughing all the way to the bank,” said Wyden.
Wyden's Hemp Farming Act would make hemp a legal crop at the federal level. It recently passed the Senate and he hopes it passes the House soon.
“More than 400 Oregon farmers are going to have the opportunity to do what farmers do. Make good product and make it available across the country and the world,” said Wyden.
Iverson says it's about time and he hopes to help more families like his.
“Now we are doing something that changes people lives and some of the stories we get back from people, some of them are incredible,” said Iverson.