Mr. Hardy
Five years ago, after the General Assembly legalized the growing of marijuanaâs cousin, industrial hemp, veteran grower Leroy Hardy Jr. sought to be among the people chosen to plant the first test plots to help interested farmers get the most from the crop.
He was dismayed that he and other minority agricultural producers were shut out of that testing process and had to wait two to three years to gain a license to produce hemp.
âSo far as I am aware, no one who looked like me received any seedsâ to plant during the initial research phase, said Mr. Hardy, a combination of African-American and Native American ancestry who sits on the council of the Nottoway Indian Tribe.