The 2018 Farm Bill ordered the USDA to create a national regulatory framework for hemp production in the United States. [8] It is not entirely certain that hemp brands and businesses will be allowed to apply for trademark protection, but we are hopeful. When it comes to hemp-derived CBD, it`s highly unlikely that brand protection will be available for every product that isn`t FDA approved. The federal guidelines are expected to help reduce operating costs and regulatory compliance for hemp businesses and farmers, Sabine said. Uniformity could reassure those who compare hemp to its federally illegal cousin and have either avoided working with hemp companies or attempted to ban hemp products. Pilot programs authorized to study hemp (often referred to as “industrial hemp”), which have been approved by both the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the state Department of Agriculture. This allowed for a small-scale expansion of hemp cultivation for limited purposes. The 2018 Farm Bill is broader. It allows hemp cultivation in general, not just pilot programs to study market interest in hemp products.

It explicitly authorizes the transfer of hemp products across state borders for commercial or other purposes. It also contains no restrictions on the sale, transportation or possession of hemp products, as long as these items are manufactured in accordance with the law. 2. How does the 2018 Farm Bill define hemp? What does this mean for FDA-regulated products? Federal policy, reinforced by the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, effectively banned the production of industrial hemp during the War on Drugs. According to one industry group, “the 1970 Act eliminated the tax approach [of the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act] and effectively made it illegal to grow cannabis.” [2] The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has refused to issue permits for the legal cultivation of hemp[a] and has ruled that since industrial hemp comes from the same plant as prohibited cannabis (although it has a lower THC yield), both are prohibited under the Controlled Substances Act. [4] [5] In the words of a 2015 PBS NewsHour segment on hemp, “For the federal government, hemp is just as illegal as marijuana.”[6] and according to Newsweek, “all cannabis sativa — whether grown for chronic pain relief, getting stoned, or making rope — is a substance I control.” [7] The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) oversees hemp cultivation as a federal regulatory agency. In October 2019, the USDA issued a preliminary final regulation outlining a federal program for hemp cultivation. The USDA is expected to issue a final rule after the 2020 crop year. The rule again highlights an earlier USDA ruling that interstate transportation is legal, even if the shipment crosses a state that allows hemp cultivation. [9] To learn more about the regulatory status of state and tribal hemp programs, visit the AMS Hemp Production website.

The USDA issued a final rule on January 19, 2021, which includes regulations for hemp production in the United States and will take effect on March 22, 2021. The final rule builds on the preliminary final rule issued on October 31, 2019, which introduced the U.S. hemp production program. The final rule includes changes based on public feedback and conclusions during the 2020 growing season. [8] For a summary of state laws regarding industrial hemp, click on the states on the map below or see the table for a complete list of state laws. “We have this hemp CBD industry that has exploded,” Sabine said. “[Products may] be grown in State A, extracted in State B, added to a product in State C, completed in State D, and moved across state borders” all without certainty to consumers that the products have been tested to meet minimum standards. It wasn`t until the 1970s, at the height of the war on drugs, that hemp was listed as a Schedule I drug.

This imposed strict regulations on production in the United States. Curiously, in 1998, the U.S. started with important hemp seeds and oils from other countries, while banning their production in the U.S. What made the 2018 Farm Bill so historic? In many ways, farm bills are a relatively boring piece of legislation. A form of law has been passed in Congress every five years since 1933, and it`s not the most exciting bill to pass Congress. But what made the 2018 Farm Bill so monumental is that it legalized the hemp industry for the first time since America`s early years. Prior to the publication of the draft regulations, some industry members were hoping for flexibility in eliminating “hot plants” or hemp plants tested above the 0.3% THC limit. Many hoped for rules that would allow farmers to dispose of crops more productively, such as composting or soil improvement. Farmers will spend a lot of time, money and effort harvesting, and it would be a shame to have to completely destroy the product without showing anything.

At the end of the day, this rule does not solve this problem as farmers had hoped. However, this aspect of the rule was essentially out of the hands of the USDA. If a crop exceeds the THC limit, it is considered marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act and must be disposed of accordingly. The laws and regulations governing procedures for the destruction of a controlled substance are not established by the USDA, so the department was limited in how to address this issue. It must be collected for destruction by a person authorized to handle a Schedule I controlled substance, such as a DEA-registered return distributor or a federal, state, or local law enforcement officer. Farmers must document the elimination of the crop, which is now considered marijuana. This can be achieved by providing the USDA with a copy of the disposal documentation provided by the authorized agent or by using the reporting requirements established by the USDA. Legalization is a process often applied to what are considered victimless crimes by those working towards legalization, an example of which is the use of illegal drugs (see Drug Legalization). It`s important to note that this change doesn`t legalize CBD, even hemp-based CBD with less than 0.3% THC.

The Food & Drug Administration still classifies CBD (even hemp-derived versions) as a medicine. It has not been approved as a dietary supplement, food additive, or drug (except in very limited cases, such as CBD newly approved by the FDA for epilepsy). There is another grey area of research that is progressing. Under current law, any cannabis-based research conducted in the U.S. must use research-grade cannabis from the nation`s only provider: the National Center for Natural Products Research Program at the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy`s Marijuana Program. This configuration exists because of the status of Schedule I cannabis. [1] However, if hemp-derived CBD is no longer on federal lists, it will raise questions among medical and scientific researchers studying CBD products and their effects as to whether they should source from Mississippi.