A highly versatile plant has the green light in Tehama County. The Board of Supervisors has passed an ordinance allowing the cultivation of industrial hemp, the non-psychoactive cousin of cannabis. Throughout human history until the middle of the 20th century virtually every rope and sail in the world was made from industrial hemp, because it grows very quickly in all kinds of conditions and the textile has all the qualities needed for a durable working material. The ordinance requires a 300 foot buffer zone from homes. Shasta County has revisited hemp cultivation several times but one concern has been that sheriff’s deputies would be unable to differentiate between hemp and cannabis.