Senators introduce bill to legalize hemp

Apr 23, 2018

If the bill passes, hemp would also be removed from a federal list of controlled substances

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell introduced a bill on Apr. 12 that, if passed, would legalize hemp production in the United States.

Currently, hemp production is allowed in more than 30 states under the 2014 Farm Bill. Each state is responsible for its own hemp program.

But if the Hemp Farming Act of 2018 passes, it will have implications on a national level.

The bill includes measures that would remove the crop from the federal list of controlled substances. Hemp producers would also be eligible for crop insurance and USDA grants if the bill passes.

“If this (bill) were to pass at the federal level, it would give growers … a kind of clarity on a number of things that are murky,” Brian Kuhn, director of the Plant Industry Bureau for Wisconsin’s agriculture department, told Wisconsin Public Radio today.

The U.S. imported about US$78 million worth of hemp goods and sold US$573 million worth of hemp products in 2015, according to a 2017 Congressional Research Service report.

The production of this crop appears to be on the rise.

U.S. farmers grew the crop on 9,770 acres of land in 2016, according to Vote Hemp, an organization dedicated to advocating for commercial production. That number grew to 25,713 acres in 2017.

Supporters of the legislation feel if Americans can purchase hemp products, Americans should be able to produce the crop used in those products.

“Hemp products are made in this country, sold in this country and consumed in this country,” Democratic Senator Ron Wyden said in an Apr. 12 statement. “Senator McConnell, our colleagues and I are going to keep pushing to make sure that if Americans can buy hemp products at the local supermarket, American farmers can grow hemp in this country.”

The bill’s introduction is a good start, but the National Hemp Association understands the challenge in front of the legislation.

“We are still early in the process and much work needs to be done to develop the appropriate level of support that will enable Leader McConnell to secure final passage,” the organization said in an Apr. 19 statement.

The top hemp producing states in 2017 were: