KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. — Oregon’s Douglas County attempted to restrict hemp production under rules for growing marijuana before being warned the policy violated the state’s “right to farm” law.

Hemp is considered a crop under Oregon’s land use law, which means it can be grown outright in farm zones.

Medical and recreational marijuana, meanwhile, can be subject to reasonable “time, place and manner” regulations by local governments.

Before planting hemp, farmers must first obtain a permit from the Oregon Department of Agriculture.

As part of its hemp policy, Douglas County requested that ODA not approve hemp licenses unless county officials issued a “land use compatibility statement” to the growers.

The ODA refused because such regulation of hemp would violate Oregon’s “right to farm” law, which prohibits local ordinances restricting common farming practices as nuisance or trespass activities.

Douglas County and ODA have now agreed that hemp production isn’t subject to restrictions, though county officials can still ask to inspect a grower’s state hemp license, said Jim Johnson, ODA’s land use specialist, during a Sept. 19 meeting of the Oregon Board of Agriculture in Klamath Falls.

However, Johnson said other counties — including Jackson, Josephine and Clackamas — may be considering similar regulatory approaches to hemp as had Douglas County.

“All these counties have vocal rural residential populations that don’t like cannabis,” he said.

While hemp doesn’t contain enough of a psychoactive substance to cause similar mind-altering effects as marijuana, some residents nonetheless worry about strong odors and potential “criminal elements,” he said.

The nation’s leading grassroots hemp advocacy organization, Vote Hemp, is teaming up with craft brewer New Belgium Brewing and GCH, the company behind Willie Nelson’s cannabis brands, to form the American Hemp Campaign. The effort, which is aimed at promoting the benefits of allowing commercial hemp production in the United States, will be launched on the Fourth of July.

The American Hemp Campaign will work to build support for changing laws to allow commercial hemp farming. Hemp production is still heavily restricted in the U.S., despite recent policy advancements at the state and federal levels. According to a Congressional Research Service report released last month, “[T]he U.S. market is largely dependent on imports, both as finished hemp-containing products and as ingredients for use in further processing (mostly from Canada and China).”

“Since the first time we met, and each time we talk, Willie is outspoken about the importance of industrial hemp to help farmers, the environment and society as a whole,” said Andrew Davison, CEO of GCH. “We’re an American cannabis company, working to build his vision across all sectors of cannabis. We want to see hemp agriculture flourish in the U.S. again.”

The campaign will focus on educating lawmakers, opinion leaders, and the public about the economic benefits of domestic hemp production. Hemp is an agricultural commodity with a wide variety of uses, and the Hemp Business Journal estimates at least $820 million in hemp products were sold in the U.S. in 2017. That number is expected to reach $1.9 billion by 2022. Forcing American businesses to import hemp denies a highly profitable crop to U.S. farmers and countless agricultural and manufacturing jobs to U.S. workers.

“At New Belgium we launched a hemp-based beer, The Hemperor HPA, this spring and the regulatory hurdles to get to market just seemed outrageously outdated and onerous,” said New Belgium CEO Steve Fechheimer. “Beer is an agricultural product and we see hemp as a potentially game-changing ingredient in brewing, so we are proud to take a stand along with Willie and the Vote Hemp folks to get these laws updated to benefit beer drinkers and farmers across the country.”  

The American Hemp Campaign is a coalition-based effort, and Vote Hemp, GCH, and New Belgium will be seeking the involvement of other organizations and companies who are interested in seeing a vibrant U.S. hemp industry. They have retained VS Strategies, a public affairs firm whose principals have collectively spent decades enacting and shaping cannabis-related policies and influencing public opinion. They will also receive assistance from Vicente Sederberg LLC, a national leader on hemp law and policy.

“Vote Hemp has been working for many years to bring back hemp farming in America,” said Eric Steenstra, president and co-founder of Vote Hemp. “We are excited to partner with New Belgium and GCH to raise awareness about the economic benefits of allowing commercial hemp farming in the United States. Lifting our nation’s outdated restrictions on domestic hemp production will fuel job creation across several business sectors and provide family farmers with a valuable new crop.”

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WASHINGTON, DC – Vote Hemp, the nation’s leading grassroots hemp advocacy organization working to change state and federal laws to allow commercial hemp farming, has released final estimates of the size of the 2017 U.S. retail market for hemp products.  Data from market research by Hemp Business Journal supports an estimate of total retail sales of hemp food, supplements and body care products in the United States at $553 million.  Sales of popular hemp items like non-dairy milk, shelled seed, soaps and lotions have continued to increase, complemented by successful hemp cultivation pilot programs in several states, and increasing grassroots pressure to allow hemp to be grown domestically on a commercial scale once again for U.S. processors and manufacturers. Hemp Business Journal has also reviewed sales of clothing, auto parts, building materials and various other products, and estimates the total retail value of hemp products sold in the U.S. in 2017 to be at least $820 million.

Of this $820 million hemp market, Hemp Business Journal estimates that hemp foods constituted 17% ($137 million); personal care products constituted 22% ($181 million); textiles constituted 13% ($105 million); supplements constituted 5% ($45 million); hemp derived cannabidiol or CBD products constituted 23% ($190 million), and consumer textiles constituted 13% ($105 million); industrial applications such as car parts constituted 18% ($144 million); and other consumer products such as paper and construction materials accounted for the remaining 2% ($16 million) of the market.

Data was gathered and analyzed by the Hemp Business Journal, the leading provider of market intelligence to the hemp industry (www.HempBizJournal.com). In addition to this information on the 2017 hemp market in the U.S., Hemp Business Journal has further produced estimates on the growth of the hemp market, which it expects to reach $1.9 billion in the U.S. by 2022.

“As the U.S. hemp market continues to grow at a double digit pace annually, American consumers continue to demonstrate their strong interest in hemp products,” said Eric Steenstra, President of Vote Hemp. “We expect the rate of growth of the market to increase, as Congress has indicated its intention to finally lift federal prohibition on industrial hemp farming. Few other industries can so clearly prove the market demand for their products, whereas the hemp market has essentially tripled in the last 5 years as hemp farming advocates have made advancements in legalizing the crop at the state and federal levels,” he continued.

On April 12, 2018, Senate Leader Mitch MConnell (R-KY) with strong bi-partisan support from Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), and further support from Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), introduced The Hemp Farming Act of 2018. If passed, the bill would place federal regulatory authority of hemp solely with USDA and require State departments of agriculture to file their hemp program plans with USDA but allow them to regulate hemp cultivation per their State specific programs. In addition to defining hemp as cannabis that contains no more than 0.3% THC by dry weight, the bill asserts a ‘whole plant’ definition of hemp, including plant extracts; and would remove roadblocks to the rapidly growing hemp industry in the U.S., notably by authorizing and encouraging access to federal research funding for hemp, and remove restrictions on banking, water rights, and other regulatory roadblocks the hemp industry currently faces. The bill would also explicitly authorize crop insurance for hemp.

Furthermore, per Vote Hemp advocacy on the issue, The Hemp Farming Act of 2018 expands federally legal commercial hemp cultivation to tribal lands, reservations and U.S. territories—lands that had previously been omitted in Sec. 7606 of the Farm Bill, which allowed only for hemp farming programs in ‘States.’

The full text of the bill may be found at: The Hemp Farming Act

Vote Hemp has calculated that approximately 25,712 acres of hemp crops were planted in 19 states during 2017 in the U.S., 32 universities conducted research on hemp cultivation, and 1,456 State hemp licenses were issued across the country. This hemp cultivation is legal in 39 states, which have lifted restrictions on hemp farming and may license farmers to grow hemp in accordance with Sec. 7606 of the Farm Bill, the Legitimacy of Industrial Hemp Research amendment. To view the Vote Hemp 2017 Crop Report, which gives a state-by-state breakdown of hemp acreage grown in 2017, please visit:

• 2017 Vote Hemp Crop Report

To date, forty states have defined industrial hemp as distinct and removed barriers to its production. These states are able to take immediate advantage of the industrial hemp research and pilot program provision, Section 7606 of the Farm Bill: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming.

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Vote Hemp is a national non-profit organization dedicated to the acceptance of and a free market for industrial hemp and to changes in current law to allow U.S. farmers to once again grow hemp commercially. 

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) A new pilot program that begins in July will make it legal to buy and sell hemp in Vermont for those registered with the Agency of Agriculture.

The program is expected to ease concerns about federal agencies cracking down on growers as long as they comply with state laws. Right now, the rules are murky when it comes to how the Agency of Agriculture is going to regulate hemp and hemp products.

“The laboratory component of the new legislation establishes a cannabis quality control program from the Agency of Agriculture. It allows us to certify other labs around hemp,” said Director of Public Health Agriculture Manager Cary Gigeure.

It will also give growers access to seeds from outside of the state, as long as their supplier is from one of the 39 farm bill-compliant states, which are states that have been approved to regulate hemp for research and development. Regulations will also benefit those interested in growing hemp in Vermont.

“Farm bill gave states and universities the authority to do research on hemp, whether that was market research, genetic research,” Gigeure said. “Just exploring the option of growing hemp as a viable crop.”

The state is looking to bring more money in by having businesses incorporate more hemp products, one being the beer industry.

“Customers are starting to ask for them and breweries are starting to make them,” said Jason Dennis, a manager at the Beverage Warehouse in Winooski.

Dennis says the beer he sells doesn’t have CBD oils so the buzz you get will strictly be from the alcohol. As more hemp-based products hit store shelves, Dennis says he still has plenty of questions on how the products will be regulated by the Agency of Agriculture.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Vote Hemp, the nation’s leading grassroots hemp advocacy organization working to change state and federal laws to allow commercial hemp farming, in coordination with Agricultural Hemp Solutions, will hold a Hemp Lobby Day on Capitol Hill, Thursday June 7, 2018, to push for the passage of the Hemp Farming Act of 2018. Hundreds of hemp business owners, entrepreneurs, farmers and advocates from across the country will meet with their Congressional representatives in Washington, DC, and rally support for full commercial legalization of industrial hemp farming, as the Hemp History Week campaign educates consumers nationwide about the benefits of this sustainable, versatile and historic crop. To register for this event, or to sign up for concurrent lobby efforts taking place in states across the country, please visit: https://goo.gl/forms/NwvxeZzQCgWpAgYw1.

Introduced on April 12, by Senate Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), with strong support from Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), and further bi-partisan support from Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR). The Hemp Farming Act of 2018, if passed, would remove federal roadblocks on the cultivation of industrial hemp, the non-drug agricultural varieties of Cannabis. The bill currently has 21 cosponsors including Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). The full text of the bill may be found at:

• https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/2667/text

When passed, the Hemp Farming Act of 2018 will remove industrial hemp from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act and allows it to be regulated as an agricultural crop. The bill moves federal regulatory authority of hemp to USDA and requires State departments of agriculture to file their hemp program plans with USDA but allows them to regulate hemp cultivation per their State specific programs. In addition to defining hemp as cannabis that contains no more than 0.3% THC by dry weight, the bill asserts a ‘whole plant’ definition of hemp, including plant extracts.  If passed, the bill would remove roadblocks to the rapidly growing hemp industry in the U.S., notably by authorizing and encouraging access to federal research funding for hemp, and remove restrictions on banking, water rights, and other regulatory roadblocks the hemp industry currently faces.

Furthermore, per Vote Hemp advocacy on the issue, The Hemp Farming Act of 2018 expands federally legal commercial hemp cultivation to tribal lands, reservations and U.S. territories—lands that had previously been omitted in Sec. 7606 of the Farm Bill, which allowed only for hemp farming programs in ‘States.’

To date, thirty-nine states have defined industrial hemp as distinct and removed barriers to its production. These states are able to take immediate advantage of the industrial hemp research and pilot program provision, Section 7606 of the Farm Bill: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

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Vote Hemp is a national non-profit organization dedicated to the acceptance of and a free market for industrial hemp and to changes in current law to allow U.S. farmers to once again grow hemp commercially. 

The Hemp Farming Act of 2018 Strongly Poised to Pass Federal Legalization of Hemp Cultivation, Regulation and Commerce in 115th Congress

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Vote Hemp, the nation’s leading grassroots hemp advocacy organization working to change state and federal laws to allow commercial hemp farming, strongly supports the introduction of and advancement of The Hemp Farming Act of 2018. Introduced on April 12, by Senate Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), with strong support from Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), and further bi-partisan support from Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR). The Hemp Farming Act of 2018, if passed, would remove federal roadblocks on the cultivation of industrial hemp, the non-drug agricultural varieties of Cannabis. The full text of the bill may be found at: The Hemp Farming Act of 2018

The Hemp Farming Act of 2018 would remove industrial hemp from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act and allows it to be regulated as an agricultural crop. The bill places federal regulatory authority of hemp with USDA and requires State departments of agriculture to file their hemp program plans with USDA but allows them to regulate hemp cultivation per their State specific programs. In addition to defining hemp as cannabis that contains no more than 0.3% THC by dry weight, the bill asserts a ‘whole plant’ definition of hemp, including plant extracts.  If passed, the bill would remove roadblocks to the rapidly growing hemp industry in the U.S., notably by authorizing and encouraging access to federal research funding for hemp, and remove restrictions on banking, water rights, and other regulatory roadblocks the hemp industry currently faces. The bill would also explicitly authorize crop insurance for hemp.

Furthermore, per Vote Hemp advocacy on the issue, The Hemp Farming Act of 2018 expands federally legal commercial hemp cultivation to tribal lands, reservations and U.S. territories—lands that had previously been omitted in Sec. 7606 of the Farm Bill, which allowed only for hemp farming programs in ‘States.’

Senator McConnell said. “Today, with my colleagues, I am proud to introduce the bipartisan Hemp Farming Act of 2018, which will build upon the success of the hemp pilot programs and spur innovation and growth within the industry. By legalizing hemp and empowering states to conduct their own oversight plans, we can give the hemp industry the tools necessary to create jobs and new opportunities for farmers and manufacturers around the county.”

“It is far past time for Congress to pass this commonsense, bipartisan legislation to end the outrageous anti-hemp, anti-farmer and anti-jobs stigma that’s been codified into law and is holding back growth in American agriculture jobs and our economy at large,” Senator Wyden said. “Hemp products are made in this country, sold in this country and consumed in this country. Senator McConnell, our colleagues and I are going to keep pushing to make sure that if Americans can buy hemp products at the local supermarket, American farmers can grow hemp in this country.”

“We’re grateful for the urgency that Senators McConnell, Wyden and Merkley are demonstrating on this issue. We are calling on Congress to pass this imperative legislation so that American farmers can finally engage in and benefit economically from the booming U.S. hemp industry,” said Eric Steenstra, President of Vote Hemp. “With strong bi-partisan support in both the House and Senate, Congress has a clear road to passing the Industrial Hemp Farming Act, and we urge them to do so immediately, so that no further economic opportunity is lost to American farmers and manufacturers.”

Per hemp farming legislation set forth in the Farm Bill of 2014, 25,541 acres of industrial hemp were lawfully cultivated across 19 states in 2017.

To date, thirty-four states have defined industrial hemp as distinct and removed barriers to its production. These states are able to take immediate advantage of the industrial hemp research and pilot program provision, Section 7606 of the Farm Bill: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming.

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Vote Hemp is a national non-profit organization dedicated to the acceptance of and a free market for industrial hemp and to changes in current law to allow U.S. farmers to once again grow hemp commercially. 

WASHINGTON, DC — Vote Hemp, the nation’s leading grassroots hemp advocacy organization working to change state and federal laws to allow commercial hemp farming, has released its 2017 U.S. Hemp Crop Report. The report documents state-by-state progress of hemp legislation passed in 2017, reported acreage of hemp grown, identifies states with active hemp pilot farming programs and advocacy work the organization has lead over the past year. To view the complete Vote Hemp 2017 States Report, please visit: 2017 Vote Hemp Crop Report

“We’ve seen hemp cultivation significantly expand in the U.S. in 2017, with over double the number of acres planted in hemp compared to last year and the addition of 4 more states with hemp pilot programs,” said Eric Steenstra, President of Vote Hemp. “The majority of states have implemented hemp farming laws, in clear support of this crop and its role in diversifying and making more sustainable our agricultural economy. It’s imperative that we pass the Industrial Hemp Farming Act in Congress, so that we can grant farmers full federally legal rights to commercially cultivate hemp to supply the growing global market for hemp products.”

Since the passage of Section 7606 of the Farm Bill, “Legitimacy of Industrial Hemp Research,” hemp cultivation in the U.S. has grown rapidly. The number of acres of hemp grown across 19 states totaled 23,343 in 2017, more than double the number of acres from the previous year. State licenses to cultivate hemp were issued to 1,424 farmers; and 32 universities conducted research on the crop. Despite this progress, hemp farmers face logistical and legislative hurdles that yet hinder the full scale commercial cultivation of hemp to supply American consumers: farmers rely on imported certified hemp seed from countries such as Canada and Italy; the DEA has obstructed interstate commerce of U.S. grown and manufactured hempseed oil and protein powder. And though H.R. 3530 The Industrial Hemp Farming Act has been introduced in Congress, farming of the crop remains prohibited at the federal level.

Among the fastest-growing categories in the natural foods industry, hemp seed is a rich source of Omega-3 and Omega-6 essential fatty acids (EFAs), providing both SDA and GLA, highly-digestible protein, and naturally-occurring vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin E and iron. An excellent source of dietary fiber, hemp seed is also a complete protein—meaning it contains all ten essential amino acids, with no enzyme inhibitors, making it more digestible by the human body. Advancements in hemp research and manufacturing demonstrate the remarkable versatility and product-potential for hemp. Hemp bast fiber has shown promising potential to replace graphene in supercapacitor batteries, which could then be used to power electric cars and handheld electric devices and tools. Hemp fiber can also be used to create environmentally friendly composites, and hard bio-plastics for use in everything from airplanes to car parts. Hemp houses are also on the rise, as hempcrete, which is energy-efficient, non-toxic, resistant to mold, insects and fire, has many advantages to synthetic building materials, lumber and concrete.

To date, thirty-three states have defined industrial hemp as distinct and removed barriers to its production. These states are able to take immediate advantage of the industrial hemp research and pilot program provision, Section 7606 of the Farm Bill: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming.

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Vote Hemp is a national non-profit organization dedicated to the acceptance of and a free market for industrial hemp and to changes in current law to allow U.S. farmers to once again grow hemp commercially. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Vote Hemp, the nation’s leading grassroots hemp advocacy organization working to change state and federal laws to allow commercial hemp farming, has successfully worked with the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) to secure the inclusion of a pro-hemp farming position in the conference’s permanent agriculture policy. Passed on August 7, 2017, the new directive on hemp farming legislation asserts NCSL support for both federal and state regulations for industrial hemp cultivation in the U.S., and is the result of several years of Vote Hemp’s advocacy on the issue. Specifically, the new NCSL policy directive reads:

“NCSL Supports federal legislation to define industrial hemp as a distinct agricultural crop (1 percent% or less THC content) and allow states to regulate commercial hemp farming. Currently 33 states have laws allowing hemp research or farming. NCSL believes that hemp has a long history as a sustainable and a profitable crop, and has great potential as a new crop for American agriculture and industry. According to Vote Hemp, an estimated $687 million worth of hemp products were sold in the U.S. in 2016, including foods, body care products, clothing, auto parts, building materials, and paper. Most of these products were made from imported hemp due to federal policy that prohibits commercial hemp farming. NCSL believes that federal policies that obstruct industrial hemp farming are outdated and must be changed.”

Passed by a unanimous vote among NCSL members, this inclusion of hemp farming support in the organization’s agriculture policy marks an important shift among states toward lifting prohibition on the crop, and implementing regulations for its commercial cultivation at the state level. Vote Hemp would like to expressly thank Hawaii State Representative Cynthia Thielen, and Hawaii State Senator Mike Gabbard, who helped draft the language of the directive and secure support for its passage; as well as Maryland State Delegate David Fraser-Hidalgo, who presented the resolution to the NCSL Agriculture Policy Committee, and was key to its unanimous ratification.

“We are grateful to the National Conference of State Legislatures for their unequivocal support for hemp farming legislation,” said Eric Steenstra, President of Vote Hemp. “The unanimous inclusion of this directive in their agriculture policy demonstrates that NCSL understands the need for legislative reform to legalize hemp farming, and recognizes its potential as a sustainable and profitable crop for American farmers,” Steenstra continued.

This strong demonstration of NCSL support for hemp farming legalization at the state and federal levels occurs at a propitious time, as the Industrial Hemp Farming Act H.R. 3530 was just recently introduced in Congress July 28, 2017, and is well poised to lift prohibition on hemp farming in the United States in the 115th Congress.  According to Vote Hemp, an estimated $687 million worth of hemp products were sold in the U.S. in 2016, including foods, body care products, clothing, auto parts, building materials, and paper. Most of these products were made from imported hemp due to federal policy that prohibits commercial hemp farming.

To date, thirty-three states have defined industrial hemp as distinct and removed barriers to its production. These states are able to take immediate advantage of the industrial hemp research and pilot program provision, Section 7606 of the Farm Bill: Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming.

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Vote Hemp is a national, single-issue, non-profit organization dedicated to the acceptance of and a free market for low-THC industrial hemp and to changes in current law to allow American farmers to once again grow the agricultural crop. More information about hemp legislation and the crop’s many uses may be found at www.VoteHemp.com. Video footage of hemp farming is available upon request by contacting Lauren Stansbury at 402-540-1208 or lauren@votehemp.com.

WASHINGTON, D.C. Vote Hemp, the nation’s leading grassroots hemp advocacy organization working to change state and federal laws to allow commercial hemp farming, supports the introduction of the Congressional bill H.R. 3530, The Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2017, on July 27, 2017. If passed, The Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2017 would remove federal restrictions on the cultivation of industrial hemp, the non-drug oilseed and fiber variety of Cannabis. The full text of the bill may be found at:
https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/3530.

H.R. 3530 is remarkably different than previous iterations of Congressional bills that sought to lift federal prohibition on hemp farming. The bill allows for commercial cultivation of industrial hemp that has a THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) content of no more than 0.3 percent by dry weight, consistent with the definition of industrial hemp provided in Sec. 7606 of the Farm Bill. Yet, additionally, H.R. 3530 would allow for research cultivation on industrial hemp crops with a THC content of up to 0.6 percent by dry weight. Furthermore, per Vote Hemp advocacy on the issue, H.R. 3530 expands federally legal commercial hemp cultivation to tribal lands, reservations and U.S. territories—lands that had previously been omitted in Sec. 7606 of the Farm Bill, which allowed only for hemp farming programs in ‘States.’

However, despite these worthy additions to the Industrial Hemp Farming Act, H.R. 3530 contains provisions that Vote Hemp asserts will severely hamper the growth of the hemp industry in the U.S. Specifically, H.R. 3530 allows for the Drug Enforcement Administration to conduct “administrative inspections” of hemp farms and locations where there is “production, storage, distribution or use” of industrial hemp. This overly broad language perpetuates the misclassification of industrial hemp as a drug, rather than an agricultural commodity, and fails to allow states to regulate the crop.

Vote Hemp also objects to a provision in H.R. 3530 that, if passed, would harm the nascent CBD product manufacturing industry and market in the U.S., annual retail sales of which were estimated at $130 million in 2016, constituting 19% of the U.S. hemp market.  Finally, H.R. 3530 fails to amend the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, thereby allowing the Food and Drug Administration to continue its regulatory oversight of CBD products as a controlled substance drug, rather than as a dietary supplement.

The bill neither makes mention of restricting hemp cultivation or commercial production of U.S. grown hemp regarding the presence of other cannabinoids in the hemp plant nor does it restrict the definition of hemp according to specific botanical parts of the hemp plant.

“It’s imperative that members of Congress understand and recognize industrial hemp as an historic, versatile and lucrative crop for farmers,” said Eric Steenstra, President of Vote Hemp. “Hemp is in no way a drug form of cannabis, CBD from hemp is not listed under the Controlled Substances Act, and it should be regulated as such. Vote Hemp is committed to working with House and Senate members to amend the bill, so that these harmful provisions are corrected or removed.”

Championed by a broad bi-partisan coalition of 15 co-sponsors, and introduced by freshman Representative James Comer (R-KY), H.R. 3530 is strongly poised to reach a floor vote in the 115th Congress. Vote Hemp anticipates a complementary bill to be introduced in the Senate in the near future.

In supplemental affirmation of Congressional support for the return of commercial hemp farming to the American agrarian landscape, Senator Michael F. Bennet (D-CO), introduced S. 1576, on July 18, 2017, which would ensure that farmers of industrial hemp crops would have equal access to water rights as those farmers growing other agricultural crops. A necessary measure to ensure the success of hemp crops around the country, this bill was introduced in response to the Bureau of Reclamation’s recent efforts to deny water rights to a number of hemp farmers in Montana, Colorado and Oregon.

To date, thirty-three states have defined industrial hemp as distinct and removed barriers to its production. These states are able to take immediate advantage of the industrial hemp research and pilot program provision, Section 7606 of the Farm Bill: Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming.

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Vote Hemp is a national, single-issue, non-profit organization dedicated to the acceptance of and a free market for low-THC industrial hemp and to changes in current law to allow U.S. farmers to once again grow the agricultural crop. More information about hemp legislation and the crop’s many uses may be found at www.VoteHemp.com. Video footage of hemp farming in other countries is available upon request by contacting Lauren Stansbury at 402-540-1208 or lauren@votehemp.com.

Hemp Lobby Day 2017

Thanks to all who attended our 2017 Hemp Lobby Day on March 1, 2017 in Washington, DC! Hemp advocates conducted over 75 meetings with members and their staff and educated them on the need for legislation to allow for full commercial hemp farming at the state level.