Hemp Farming Act of 2018: Difference between revisions

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Line 1: {{Use American English\|date = April 2019}} The '''Hemp Farming Act of 2018''' is a proposed law to remove hemp (defined as cannabis with less than 0.3% THC) from [[List of Schedule I drugs (US)\|Schedule I controlled substances]] and making it an ordinary agricultural commodity.▼ {{Short description\|United States Law}} {{Use mdy dates\|date = April 2019}} {{Mitch McConnell series}} {{Ron Wyden series}} ▲The '''Hemp Farming Act of 2018''' iswas a proposed law to remove [[hemp]] (defined as [[cannabis]] with less than 0.3% THC) from [[List of Schedule I drugs (US)\|Schedule I controlled substances]] and making it an ordinary agricultural commodity. Its provisions were incorporated in the [[2018 United States farm bill]] that became law on December 20, 2018. In late March 2018, Senate Majority Leader [[Mitch McConnell]] announced he would introduce legislation legalizing hemp production in his state, Kentucky, and nationally.<ref>{{citation\|title=McConnell announces hemp legislation with Ky. Ag. Commissioner\|publisher=[[WKYT-TV]]\|location=Lexington, Kentucky\|date=March 26, 2018\|url=http://www.wkyt.com/content/news/Sen-McConnell-and-Ky-Ag-Commissioner-announce-hemp-legislation-477932893.html}}</ref><ref name=Gstalter>{{citation\|title=McConnell bill would legalize hemp as agricultural product\|author=Morgan Gstalter\|date=March 26, 2018 \|work=The Hill\|url=~~http~~https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/380287-mcconnell-bill-would-legalize-hemp-as-agricultural-product/}}</ref><ref>{{citation\|title=Senator McConnell and Commissioner Quarles Announce Hemp Legislation\|date=March 26, 2018\|publisher=United States Senate official website\|author=Senator Mitch McConnell\|type=press release\|url=https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=92CD9FA7-C278-4332-B187-745C15F35EFC}}</ref> McConnell introduced the bill, S.2667, on the Senate floor on April 12, 2018, co-sponsored by Oregon senators [[Ron Wyden]] and [[Jeff Merkley]].<ref>{{citation\|title=Hemp Farming Act of 2018 introduced by Sen. Mitch McConnell\|date=April 12, 2018\|author= Alicia Wallace\| work=[[The Cannabist]]\|publisher=''[[The Denver Post]]~~''\|~~ \|url=https://www.thecannabist.co/2018/04/12/mcconnell-hemp-farming-act-of-2018/103438/}}</ref><ref>[https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/2667 S.2667], United States Senate official website</ref> McConnell announced that Representative [[James Comer (politician)\|James Comer]] of Kentucky would introduce a companion bill in the House of Representatives.<ref>{{citation\|title=Senators McConnell, Wyden, and Merkley join efforts to support hemp farmers, processors, and product manufacturers to capitalize on this growing industry\|date=April 12, 2018\|author=Mitch McConnell\|via=United States Senate official website\|type=press release\|url=https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=12F5118F-E2E4-4D42-9DB9-51A946823997}}</ref> The companion bill, H.R. 5485, was introduced on April 12, with Colorado Representative [[Jared Polis]] co-sponsoring.<ref>[https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/5485 H.R. 5485], U.S. Congress official website</ref> In addition to [[Removal of cannabis from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act\|removing low-THC cannabis from regulation under the Controlled Substances Act]], the 2018 act would avail hemp farmers of water rights and federal agricultural grants, and make the national banking system (in a gray area for the [[cannabis industry]]{{efn\|See [[Cannabis banking in Washington State]] for example.}}) accessible to farmers and others involved; and allow for other benefits of production of a recognized crop such as marketing, agronomy research, and crop insurance.<ref name=Gstalter/><ref>{{citation\|title=Reason roundup: Congress moves to legalize hemp\|url=https://reason.com/blog/2018/04/13/comey-book-release-prompts-pee-tape-news\|publisher=[[Reason Foundation]]\|work=Reason blog\|author=Elizabeth Nolan Brown\|date=April 13, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{citation\|title=Hemp Farming Act of 2018 introduced by Sen. Mitch McConnell\|author=Alicia Wallace\|work=[[The Cannabist]]\|publisher=''The Denver Post''\|date=April 12, 2018\|url=https://www.thecannabist.co/2018/04/12/mcconnell-hemp-farming-act-of-2018/103438/}}</ref> ==History== Hemp production in the United States essentially ceased in the 1950s due to market conditions and federal regulations.{{sfn\|Johnson\|2017\|p=7}}{{sfn\|Shepherd\|1999}}{{sfn\|Hopkins\|2015\|pp=193–208}} Since the mid-1990s, there has been a resurgence of interest in the United States in producing industrial hemp.{{sfn\|Johnson\|2017\|p=14}}<!-- verbatim --> Executive Order 12919 (1994) identified hemp as a strategic national product that should be stockpiled.<ref>[https://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/15714 Executive Order 1219], Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)</ref><ref>{{citation\|title=About Industrial Hemp \|publisher=New Mexico Legislature\|url=https://www.nmlegis.gov/lcs/handouts/ERDT%20090214%20Item%209%20Facts%20About%20Industrial%20Hemp.pdf\|~~accessdate~~access-date=2017-04-14}}</ref> The 2018 legislation was preceded by a failed Industrial Hemp Farming Act (109th Congress [House] and 114th Congress [Senate]) and a hemp- and CBD-related attempt to amend to the Controlled Substances Act (114th Congress);{{sfn\|Johnson\|2017\|p=Summary}} and the [[Agricultural Act of 2014]], which created a regulated, national agricultural hemp pilot program under which states could create their own pilot program regulations. There existed "ongoing tension between federal and state authorities over state hemp policies" due to non-cooperation of the DEA with state programs,{{sfn\|Johnson\|2017\|p=17}} and lawsuits brought or threatened by farmers and states against the DEA.<ref name=Barrett>{{citation\|title=Farmers, Drug Enforcement Administration at odds over hemp\|author=Rick Barrett\|newspaper=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel \|date=February 15, 2018\|url=https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/business/2018/02/15/wisconsin-farmers-ready-grow-hemp-again-but-some-products-challenged-drug-enforcement-officials/342585002/}}</ref><ref>{{citation\|newspaper=[[The News & Observer]]\|location=Raleigh, NC\|title=NC hemp commission considers joining lawsuit against DEA\|author=Rachel Chason\|date=April 4, 2017 \|url=http://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article142568559.html}}</ref> The DEA and conflicting Federal court decisions regarding "low THC content [hemp] and marijuana of greater THC content"{{sfn\|Johnson\|2017\|p=19}} left a perplexing environment for would-be producers with "general uncertainty about how federal authorities will respond to production in states where state laws allow cultivation", especially after the Justice Department's 2018 recission of the 2013 [[Cole Memorandum]].{{sfn\|Johnson\|2017\|p=21}} By 2018, groups calling for [[Removal of cannabis from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act\|de-scheduling of hemp]] included the [[American Farm Bureau Federation]], the [[National Association of State Departments of Agriculture]], the [[National Farmers Union (United States)\|National Farmers Union]] and the [[National Conference of State Legislatures]].<ref name=Barrett/> In April, the Senate invoked [[Standing Rules of the United States Senate, Rule XIV\|Rule 14]] and skipped over committees or debate, and placed the bill directly on its calendar.<ref>[~~http~~https://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/383459-senate-fast-tracks-bill-legalizing-hemp-as-agriculture-product/ Senate fast-tracks bill legalizing hemp as agriculture product], The Hill, April 16, 2018</ref> The 2018 farm bill was sent to [[conference committee]] in mid 2018. The Associated Press noted appointment of first-term Representative [[James Comer (politician)\|James Comer]], a Republican Kentucky hemp supporter and the state's former agriculture commissioner, to the committee.<ref>{{citation\|title=Comer Gains Seat on Farm Bill Conference Committee – A Kentucky congressman has been chosen to serve on the conference committee assigned to negotiate a final version of the federal farm bill. \|date=July 18, 2018\|publisher=Associated Press \|via=US News \|url=https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/kentucky/articles/2018-07-18/comer-gains-seat-on-farm-bill-conference-committee}}</ref> The compromise version of the farm bill reached by both houses of Congress in late November, 2018 – after McConnell put himself on the conference committee – includes the hemp provisions of the Hemp Farming Act.<ref>{{citation\|title=Cannabis Industry Anxiously Awaits 2018 Farm Bill Vote\|date=December 10, 2018\|author=Melissa Schiller\|work=Cananbis Business Times\|url=https://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/article/cannabis-industry-awaits-2018-farm-bill-vote/\|quote=Mitch McConnell inserted language from his Hemp Farming Act of 2018 into the Farm Bill to legalize the cultivation and sale of [cannabis]}}</ref><ref>{{citation\|publisher =Bloomberg\|title=Lawmakers Reach Farm Bill Deal by Dumping GOP Food-Stamp Rules ~~\|url=https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/kentucky/articles/2018-07-18/comer-gains-seat-on-farm-bill-conference-committee}}</ref>~~ \|author1=Teaganne Finn \|author2=Erik Wasson \|author3=Daniel Flatley \|date=November 29, 2018\|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-29/farm-bill-deal-reached-by-dumping-new-work-rules-backed-by-trump\|quote=The bill includes a provision that would make hemp a legal agricultural commodity after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky championed the proposal, even joining the farm bill conference committee to ensure it would be incorporated. Among other changes to existing law, hemp will be removed from the federal list of controlled substances and hemp farmers will be able to apply for crop insurance.}}</ref><ref>{{citation\|title=McConnell's year-end wish: Getting Congress to legalize hemp\|author=Bruce SCHREINER\|date=November 28, 2018\|publisher=Associated Press\|url=https://apnews.com/dcbf9525ebb346689eb60326a416a84b}}</ref> ''[[Roll Call]]'' called passage of hemp legalization "an early plank of the Kentucky Republican [Mitch McConnell]'s 2020 re-election bid" soon after the $867 billion farm bill was passed by the Senate on December 11, 2018, signed by McConnell with a hemp pen.<ref>{{citation\|title=Mitch McConnell Touting Victory With Hemp Legalization on Farm Bill\|author=Niels Lesniewski\|newspaper=[[Roll Call]]\|date=December 11, 2018\|url=https://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/mitch-mcconnell-touting-victory-hemp-legalization-farm-bill}} Issue is becoming an early plank of the Kentucky Republican’s 2020 re-election bid</ref> ==State reactions== In October, 2018, with House and Senate versions of the 2018 Farm Bill being reconciled, the [[National Association of State Departments of Agriculture]] made plans to begin harmonizing state-level hemp THC testing in anticipation of passage of the Federal act.<ref>{{citation\|title=On the brink of being legal, hemp still faces challenges\|author=Sophie Quinton\|work=High Plains/Midwest Ag Journal\|publisher=[[High Plains Journal]]\|date=October 12, 2018\|location=Dodge City, Kansas\|url=http://www.hpj.com/crops/on-the-brink-of-being-legal-hemp-still-faces-challenges/article_910d403f-3ec7-53aa-9696-1dd875677695.html}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-sac-skelton-cbd-hemp-california-legislation-20190603-story.html\|title=Why does California's public health department treat CBD like poison?\|last=Skelton\|first=George\|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]\|date=June 3, 2019 \|access-date=2019-06-03}}</ref> ==See also== Line 27 ⟶ 37: ==References== {{reflist}} ===Sources=== * {{citation \|agency= University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law \|journal= UMKC Law Review \|title= COMMENT & NOTE: Lethal Concentration of Power: How the D.E.A. Acts Improperly to Prohibit the Growth of Industrial Hemp \|date= Winter 1999 \|id=68 UMKC L. Rev. 239 \|first= Christen D. \|last= Shepherd\|quote=[I]industrial hemp cannot be legally grown in the United States because the D.E.A. refuses to grant farmers and entrepreneurs the required permit, Number 225, which would allow the licensee to 'manufacture' a 'controlled substance.' The D.E.A. has never granted these permits.}} {{citation\|publisher=Congressional Research Service\|title=Hemp as an Agricultural Commodity\|first=Renée \|last=Johnson\|id=CRS Report RL32725\|date=March 10, 2017\|via=Federation of American Scientists\|url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL32725.pdf}} {{citation\|title=A History of the Hemp Industry in Kentucky\|first=James F. \|last=Hopkins\|publisher=[[University Press of Kentucky]]\|year= 2015\|~~ISBN~~isbn =9780813148618\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eKggBgAAQBAJ\|oclc=272437}} (originally published 1951) {{Congressional Research Service\|article = Hemp as an Agricultural Commodity}} ==Further reading== {{citation\|title=How a Pair of Kentucky Pols Are About to Legalize Hemp\|publisher=[[Politico]]\|author=James Higdon \|date=August 4, 2018\|url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/08/04/mcconnell-comer-legalize-hemp-marijuana-kentucky-219156}} {{citation\|title=Hemp legalization included in new farm bill could 'open the floodgates' on nascent industry\|author=Jeff Daniels\|publisher=[[CNBC]]\|date=December 7, 2018\|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/07/final-farm-bill-with-hemp-legalization-could-be-voted-on-next-week.html}} {{citation\|title=The Farm Bill, hemp legalization and the status of CBD: An explainer\|author=John Hudak\|date=December 14, 2018\|publisher =[[Brookings Institution]]\|url=https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2018/12/14/the-farm-bill-hemp-and-cbd-explainer/}} ==External links== [https://~~cannabislaw~~www.~~report~~congress.gov/wpbill/115th-~~content~~congress/~~uploads~~house-bill/~~2018~~5485/~~04/COMER_011_xml.pdf~~text Text of H.R. 5485] [https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/2/text Text of H.R.2 - Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018] (2018 farm bill) n.b. SEC. 10111. HEMP PRODUCTION [https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4723254/ Sen. McConnell (R-KY) introduces new hemp legislation], Senate session clip, [[C-Span]], April 12, 2018 {{Cannabis}} [[Category:2018 in cannabis]] [[Category:Hemp agriculture in the United States]] [[Category:Proposed legislation of the 115th United States Congress]] [[Category:Cannabis law reform in the United States]]