Guilty of also being PNW based for a lot of years, but my understanding has always been that hemp's utility as an easily (and quickly) renewable industrial good would far outweigh its medicinal uses. Both hemp fibers and seed oils have been used for a very long time, snd hemp plsnts hrow to harvest much quicker thsn trees. I remember seeing something on hemp-based building materials (like lumber) being a real thing.

I don't know much about sustainable growing practices, though - I might assume thst monocropping hemp would result in similar deficiencies in the soil as what we observe with soy, corn, or wheat. Maybe our Canadian friends could weigh in here, as I believe Canada has industrial hemp production, at least in some provinces.