U.S. Federal Industrial Hemp Legislation

Two industrial hemp bills have been introduced in the 113th Congress so far. H.R. 525, the "Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2013," was introduced in the U.S. House on February 6, 2013. The companion bill, S. 359, was introduced in the U.S. Senate on February 14, 2013. The bills define industrial hemp, exclude it from the definition of "marihuana" in the Controlled Substances Act, and gives states the exclusive authority to regulate the growing and processing of industrial hemp under state law.

THOMAS (Library of Congress) bill information for H.R. 525 - Bill Summary & Status - 113th Congress

THOMAS (Library of Congress) bill information for S. 359 - Bill Summary & Status - 113th Congress

Please see our Federal Legislation page for much more information.

U.S. State Industrial Hemp Legislation

So far in the 2013 legislative season industrial hemp legislation has been introduced in twenty states: Alabama, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Washington, and West Virginia. Industrial hemp legislation is expected to be introduced in at least one more state as well: Wisconsin. Please click here to read an update on the progress of bills in state legislatures.

To date, thirty-one states have introduced pro-hemp legislation and ninenteen have passed pro-hemp legislation.

Nine states (Colorado, Kentucky, Maine, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and West Virginia) have defined industrial hemp as distinct and removed barriers to its production.

Three states (Hawaii, Kentucky, and Maryland) have passed bills creating commissions or authorizing research.

Nine states have passed hemp resolutions: California, Colorado, Illinois, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Vermont and Virginia.

Eight states have passed hemp study bills: Arkansas, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, and Vermont. Many other states have done studies without legislative directive. A complete list of state study bill legislation and state studies may be found on our Study Bill page.

State legislators, for more information about passing a resolution in support of industrial hemp please see our Hemp Resolution page.

All state hemp bills and resolutions introduced since 1995 are archived in individual state pages, which are accessed in the clickable map of the United States below. The bills are also listed on a single table on our State Legislation page.