FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky Senate committee approved legislation Monday to regulate industrial hemp production if the now-illegal crop gains a federal reprieve, a step encouraged by such supporters as U.S. Sen. Rand Paul and former CIA director James Woolsey.

Supporters before the Senate Agriculture Committee touted hemp’s potential as an alternative crop for farmers and a way to create jobs by turning hemp into products that include paper, clothing, auto parts, biofuels, food and lotions.