The 2018 Farm Bill and legal hemp!

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Check out our latest blog article. It’s about the 2018 farm bill which includes a provision for legal hemp grows!

Congress has reached an “agreement in principle” on the 2018 farm bill. While the bill must receive final approval by the Congressional Budget Office, it appears that hemp is about to be grown legally in the US for the first time since it was banned via the Marihuana[sic] Tax Act of 1937. If the updated farm bill passes as it stands, there will be major implications for US markets.

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THE FARM BILL

Since it was first implemented during the Great Depression, the US farm bill has been a safety net for farmers and other agricultural professionals, protecting them from fluctuations in supply and demand of their goods with both subsidies and insurance. The farm bill is an omnibus bill, meaning it contains a variety of provisions that can be passed with a single congressional vote rather than a separate vote for each item. Additionally, the bill includes a built-in provision that it must be updated every five years to keep up with industry changes.

Hemp legalization has a seemingly odd ally in KY senator Mitch McConnell, whose home state has been growing research hemp since he introduced State Bill 50 in 2013. A year later McConnell also added a provision to the 2014 farm bill, allowing for hemp grown as part of sanctioned collegiate and medical research programs. While McConnell maintains his anti-cannabis stance, he recognizes the chemical distinction between hemp and cannabis; more importantly he recognizes hemp’s economic value. Hemp, as you probably know, contains only trace amounts of the psychoactive cannabinoid THC (0.3%), but can contain high amounts of CBD, another cannabinoid shown to be effective for treating the symptoms of a variety of health conditions from anxiety to seizures. While some CBD products are available legally in the US since being reclassified by the DEA, currently hemp and its derivatives must be sourced from outside the US. This of course will change as the 2018 farm bill approaches congressional approval, setting the stage for major market impact.

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THE HEMP MARKET

In addition to the value of cultivating hemp itself, there is major growth potential for the CBD market. Currently, the CBD market is projected to surpass the marijuana market and reach a value of $22 billion dollars by 2022. This is great news for investors as hemp and CBD companies are positioned to thrive in the newly legal market, with established companies and startups raising money for US IPO offerings.

Projections for the future of the hemp market are generally positive as demand for hemp products continues to increase, though some reports suggest hemp cultivation is only slightly more profitable than other row crops, creating little incentive for established farmers to transition to hemp or for new farmer to simply farm it. Don’t be discouraged, however. In 2016, retail sales of hemp products neared $700 million, so it’s likely that we’ll see an increase vertically integrated hemp businesses, with growing, processing, product packaging, and distribution all done in-house. This is similar to what’s been happening within the legalized cannabis industry with growers processing their own extracts, and in many cases selling them in their own dispensaries. So if you feel like you missed your chance to invest in legal cannabis, the CBD market is expected to boom, with additional markets opening up to new hemp products. You can see our partial product list below.

Modern Uses for Hemp:

  1. Textiles: clothing, fashion accessories, twine, rope, carpet
  2. Industrial products: brake/clutch linings, Fiber Composites
  3. Paper: newsprint, cardboard, printing
  4. Building materials: Fiberboard, insulation
  5. Food: oils, margarine, supplements
  6. Technical Products: Paints, solvents, fuel
  7. Personal Hygiene Products: soaps, shampoos, conditioners, deodorants
  8. Animal Feed

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So what do you think? Will the 2018 Farm Bill have major implications for the domestic hemp industry? Check out the Senate and House versions of the 2018 farm bill.

Share your thoughts!

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I am excited about this.

This will help us get away from plastic.

And less killing trees for toilet paper.

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This is the first time the Farm Bill has had anything I am interested in. So this one time, I will ignore all the bad and concentrate on the good.

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That has been my feeling about the farm bill for 40 years. They keep giving money to industrial grower.

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This is a YUUUUUUGE step forward!

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I would be happier if 90% of the money was to going to biggest corporations. Sugar is still getting a subsidy by keeping the 70 year old sugar import tax!

The bill makes it easier to get an AFIS permit. You should apply. And pay the renewal fee. Dumbest thing I ever did was let my permit expire. If Hemp become legal want to be in the position to buy seed from a variety of special sources.

From the voices in my head
Ethan

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I’m confused by the definition of hemp. I’ve spoken to some other friends in the industry and there still seems to be some confusion. In the 2014 bill, the definition was .3 or below delta 9 THC. In the 2018 bill, there are two sections (297 A & B) that discuss the definition. At first it seems to describe hemp as .3 or below delta 9 THC /dry weight. But then I was talking to a customer and he said he retained someone from the Hoban Law Group and he swore up and down that it was .3 or below post decarbed THC that defined hemp. Here is the link to the bill if any one wants to have a read. I happen to know Courtney Moran who was one of the attorneys who helped draft the bill, I may just do a consult. https://www.congress.gov/115/bills/s2667/BILLS-115s2667pcs.pdf
And OHhhh, BTW did anyone see the article where 4 hemp transporters were arrested in OK for transporting hemp? One of the partners of the company whom I consider a professional friend, thought he had all his compliance paperwork in order and they STILL were arrested. We have a long way to go folks to bring the collective consciousness up to speed. https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/local/marijuana/biggest-marijuana-bust-of-all-time-no-just-legal-hemp/article_f8e59c4e-dc26-5ee3-81c7-3da033db4f8d.html

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OK, so since this morning, I’ve just come across a brief that the US Hemp Roundtable’s counsel submitted in support to the transport company who’s drivers were arrested and 18k lbs hemp material seized in OK. The definition is clear:

The federal definition of hemp depends only on plant species and THC concentration.
The products seized from Big Sky constitute federally-legal hemp under the 2018 Farm
Bill, so long as they contain the plant Cannabis sativa L. (or parts of the plant) and have a THC
concentration of 0.3% or less on dry weight basis. Their status as hemp does not depend on being
produced under any particular law. The 2018 Farm Bill expands the federal definition of hemp as
follows:
The term ‘hemp’ means the plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part of that plant, including
the seeds thereof and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts
of isomers, whether growing or not, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of
not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis.
See id. § 10113 (Subtitle G, Section 297A(1)). Nothing in this definition limits hemp to hemp
produced under the 2018 Farm Bill or any other law. Indeed, apart from plant species (Cannabis
sativa L.) and THC concentration on a dry-weight basis, the definition contains no limitations.

Sorry to use the network as a sounding block. I do appreciate each and everyone of you in this industry. I see the Cannabis and Hemp industries as sibling industries that can support one another. I hope this was helpful. If anyone would like to read the entire brief from the US Hemp Roundtable : https://hempsupporter.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Brief-of-Amicus-Curiae-U.S.-Hemp-Roundtable.pdf

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Most people refer to “high” as Sativa and “Couch lock” as indica, biologic classifications are actually much different. “Sativas” are actually C. Indica , “Indicas” are C. Afghanica, and “Hemp/CBD” plants are C.Sativa.
I’ll wait for the blowing of minds.
So when the US government refers to C.Sativa , they are strictly referring to what we know as Hemp/CBD A.K.A. “The artist formerly know as”( my Prince homage) Ruderalis.
Just reiterating what Cannabisbuyer stated above to clear any confusion on nomenclature , but a little more laymen.

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