ST. PAUL — Hemp has been legally harvested in Minnesota for the first time in more than 60 years.

A new state law passed this year allows researchers from the University of Minnesota to collect wild hemp. Researchers scoured the overgrown grounds at Fort Snelling Wednesday and cut some wild hemp.

Dr. George Weiblen has been studying hemp for more than a decade. Weiblen said he has not been able to collect wild cannabis seed until now and had to import it from the Netherlands and Canada.

Weiblen said he and other researchers hope to create new varieties with an aim toward reviving a domestic hemp industry in the United States. According to a press release, unlike traditional marijuana, the wild hemp has very little THC, the psychoactive compound.