Hemp Farming Act of 2018: Difference between revisions

 

==History==

 

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/>