2018 Farm Bill Committee Speaks Highly of Hemp
The confirmation hearing of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court wasn’t the only meeting happening on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. yesterday. Just rooms away the bicameral committee consisting of 9 Senators and 49 members of Congress met to discuss and collaborate on the finalization steps of the 2018 Farm Bill. A major point of emphasis discussed was the federal legalization of industrial hemp.
With bi-partisan support for industrial hemp, not a single committee member spoke unfavorably of hemp or its legalization during yesterday’s meeting. By all accounts it seems quite unlikely industrial hemp legalization, as a provision of the 2018 Farm Bill, will be met with much, if any resistance moving forward. Seems speaking against hemp has become a very unpopular thing to do in politics nowadays.
Senate Majority Leader and 2018 Farm Bill panel member, Mitch McConnell, is doing everything in his power to make sure the 2018 Farm Bill not only gets passed by September 30 (the expiration date of the current Farm Bill), but is adamant federal legalization of industrial hemp is included.
During the committee meeting, each Senator and member of Congress had a chance to speak about their priorities for the Farm Bill. On the topic of hemp, Senator McConnell spoke about how farmers stand to gain greatly from industrial hemp’s legalization.
“Consumers, as we all know, have been consuming hemp products for decades. It’s everywhere,” McConnell said. “It’s just coming from other countries.” A twitter statement from Senator McConnell read, “It’s past time that we build on the work we began with the pilot program in the 2014 Farm Bill and unleash farmers in #Kentucky and across the country to grow #hemp right here at home—with proper oversight—so they can capitalize on this multi-billion dollar market.” Below is Senator McConnell’s full remarks during yesterday’s 2018 Farm Bill committee meeting.
During the meeting, long-time hemp supporter Representative Bob Goodlatte of Virginia said hemp is a very important crop that’s “clearly distinguishable from its cousin (marijuana).”
If the provisions for the legalization of industrial do make it onto the finalized 2018 Farm Bill (which they look like they will) and the bill is signed by President Trump, we should see industrial hemp legalized as an agricultural commodity and removed entirely from the DEA’s federal list of controlled substances.
It has been an up and down year for hemp supporters, but we are close to a ground-breaking moment in hemp history. As always, If you live in a state where hemp oil is being debated for legality we strongly urge you to contact your local representative. For representative contact information in your area visit the resource section on NationalHempAssociation.org.
