The 2018 Farm Bill removed hemp from the controlled substance list, the federal law allows any person to handle (possess) plant, viable seed, leaf or floral materials without a hemp license.
By law, hemp is defined in congressional legislation as the cannabis plant (yes, the same one that produces marijuana) with one key difference: hemp cannot contain more than 0.3 percent of the psychoactive compound delta 9 THC.
Hemp is legal in the United States—with state by state restriction on production and distribution.
The allowed pilot programs to study hemp (often labeled “industrial hemp”) that were approved by Congress in the 2014 Farm Bill Act and regulated under the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) was the inception to legalizing hemp which allowed small-scale expansion of hemp cultivation for limited purposes.
Greenhouse grown hemp at Great Basin Hemp and Farm Co-op located in Central Utah. Photo Credit – Matt Herp
It wasn’t until the 2018 Farm Bill that expanded hemp cultivation broadly. Not simply pilot programs for studying market interest in hemp-derived products.
It explicitly allows the possession and transfer of hemp, and hemp-derived products across state lines for private, commercial, institutional or other purposes. It also puts no restrictions on the sale, transport, or possession of hemp-derived products, so long as those items are produced in a manner consistent with federal law.
First, as noted above, hemp cannot contain more than 0.3 percent active delta-9 THC, per section 10113 of the Farm Bill. Any cannabis plant that contains more than 0.3 percent THC would be considered non-hemp cannabis—or marijuana—under federal law and would thus face no legal protection under this new legislation.
Second, the law dictates there will be significant, shared state-federal regulatory power over hemp cultivation and production. Under section 10113 of the Farm Bill, state departments of agriculture must consult with the state’s governor and chief law enforcement officer to devise a plan that must be submitted to the Secretary of USDA.
A state’s plan to license and regulate hemp can only commence once the Secretary of USDA approves that state’s plan.
Shane England, founder of Great Basin Hemp and Farm Co-op, harvesting hemp he grew in a greenhouse located in Central Utah. Photo Credit – Matt Herp
In states opting not to devise a hemp regulatory program, USDA will construct a regulatory program under which hemp cultivators in those states must apply for licenses and comply with a federally-run program.
Third, the law outlines legalization to possess and actions that are considered violations of hemp laws (including such activities as cultivating without a license or producing cannabis with more than 0.3 percent THC).
The law details possible punishments for such violations, pathways for violators to become compliant, and even which activities qualify as felonies under the law, such as repeated offenses.
Ultimately, the Farm Bill legalizes hemp across the board, but it doesn’t create a system in which people can grow it as freely as they can grow tomatoes or basil. This will be a highly regulated crop in the United States for both personal and industrial production.
For more info on the intent of legislative branch on hemp and how it’s being advocating see Senator Rand Paul’s statement regarding the over regulation of the plant.
Greenhouse grown hemp awaiting harvest at Great Basin Hemp and Farm Co-op located in Central Utah. They are a premier hemp nursery and cooperative that services cover all aspects of the industry from seed to sale. Photo Credit – Matt Herp
Paul said regulations and ‘big government’ need to ‘get out of the way’ of the country’s burgeoning hemp industry. He expressed dismay when farmers told him hemp couldn’t be used as livestock feed.
“I don’t like the idea that we would have to ask somebody in Washington, or at the state level, for permission to feed the root, stalk or leaf of the plant to a chicken, horse, or a cow. I think things that God gave us and that grow on Earth are free, really the government shouldn’t be preventing you from feeding them to your livestock,” Paul said.
