On Wednesday, the opening day of the 2015 legislative session, Hawaii will join the U.S. Capitol and four other states in having flown an American-grown and -produced hemp flag.

State Rep. Cynthia Thielen, a Republican who has long advocated for hemp use, is sponsoring the local flag-raising and will borrow a flag from Colorado hemp advocate Michael Bowman.

Bowman, according to a press release from Thielen’s office, enlisted the help of area companies — including a Colorado hemp farmer — to make the flag.

Rep. Cynthia Thielen and a flag made of hemp.

Rep. Cynthia Thielen

The flag is said to have “a vintage feel to it which appears to be a nod to America’s hemp growing founding fathers and the many original flags that were made of hemp.”

Thielen’s office adds, “This durable flag will be flying high.”

Act 56, signed into law last year, allows the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources to establish a two-year industrial hemp remediation and biofuel crop research program.                  

The federal Agriculture Act of 2014 allows higher education institutions and state departments of agriculture to conduct industrial hemp research.

On a related note, Maui “is slated to become the first island in the state with a home built using industrial hemp,” according to Maui News.