Legislature's Impact on the Growth of the Hemp Industry

Written By: Renee Huffert

The creation and implementation of the federal Farm Bill sanctioned by Congressional negotiators in 2014 generated a crucial victory for farmers, producers and consumers across the nation. The Agricultural Act of 2014, which included section 7606, stated that universities and state departments of agriculture could begin legally cultivating industrial hemp in growth sites certified and registered with their proceeding state if:

“(1) the industrial hemp is grown or cultivated for purposes of research conducted under an agricultural pilot program or other agricultural or academic research; and

 (2) the growing or cultivating of industrial hemp is allowed under the laws of the state in which such institution of higher education or state department of agriculture is located and such research occurs.”

This amendment secured the legal production of industrial hemp, therefore, allowing research and academic organizations the ability to demonstrate that hemp and hemp-based products offer a beneficial economic opportunity for the United States. Succeeding this regulation, the Industrial Hemp Farming Act was introduced in 2015 by a bipartisan assembly of senators who sought to promote the removal of hemp from the controlled substances list. The exclusion of industrial hemp from the definition of “marijuana” was deemed admissible if hemp held a concentration of no more than 0.3 percent THC on a dry weight basis. Thus, this amendment succeeded in allowing American farmers to produce industrial hemp and its products.

As a result of these legislative acts, the expanding market of hemp is presently worth more than $130 million in the United States alone according to the Hemp Business journal and steadily rising as a result of state legislature being passed related to industrial production of this product. From the beginning of the year 2017 to the present day, at least 15 states have enacted legislation regarding new research or pilot programs dedicated towards studying the cultivation, processing and financial impact of hemp. In giving states permission to cultivate these pilot programs, it generated the foundation for a successful commodity market for farmers that will not only continue to benefit a variety of industries, but boost the overall state economy by creating jobs related to hemp production and manufacturing. 

References

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Phillip Smith / Drug War Chronicle. "U.S. Farm Bill Allows Hemp Farming... in 10 States." Alternet. N.p., 30 Jan. 2014. Web. 20 Nov. 2017. <https://www.alternet.org/drugs/us-farm-bill-allows-hemp-farming-10-states>.

"State Industrial Hemp Statutes." National Conference of State Legislatures. N.p., 26 Oct. 2017. Web. Nov. 2017. <http://www.ncsl.org/research/agriculture-and-rural-development/state-industrial-hemp-statutes.aspx>.