President Obama’s signing of the Farm Bill on February 7th, 2014 allowed state universities and state departments to implement research and pilot programs for industrial hemp. Since then, 34 states have passed industrial hemp laws with 19 of those allowing for commercial production on US soil once again. The Farm Bill permits pilot programs to “study the growth, cultivation, or marketing of industrial hemp” if done properly and lawfully under the laws of the State. The legal definition of industrial hemp is ‘Cannabis sativa and any part of such plant, whether growing or not, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than 0.3% on a dry weight basis.’
As long as nature is illegal, freedom does not exist.
The Farm Bill thus allows states to implement research programs for hemp use in industrial settings as long as the plant’s THC content is less than 0.3 percent.
Section 7606 of the Farm Bill reads:
An institution of higher education or a State department of agriculture may grow or cultivate industrial hemp if:
- the industrial hemp is grown or cultivated for purposes of research conducted under an agricultural pilot program or other agricultural or academic research; and
- 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.
As required by the bill, all states that have implemented a pilot program have very strict regulations that include different licensing, registration and permitting procedures on the state level. Additionally, anyone conducting a research or pilot program must also register with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and agree to random inspections and testing of their product. Those who comply are setting the foundation for an American industrial hemp revolution.
The number of licensed hemp producers in the top ten hemp producing states increased from 609 in 2016 to 1,211 in 2017. The resultant impact on acreage over the same time-frame was 250% growth from 16,000 acres of production in 2016 to 40,000 in 2017. The number of hemp producers in Oregon, Tennessee and Vermont more than tripled in 2017 while Minnesota, New York and North Dakota saw growth of 533%, 425% and 600% respectively.
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