Hemp and the Farm Bill

The war on hemp is now ended. With the signing of the Farm Bill the President with bipartisan support in both the House and Senate will end the 60-year prohibition on hemp. Thanks mostly go to Mitch McConnel who under pressure from his constituent farmers in Kentucky finally realized that hemp can save family farms with sustainable income, reducing our carbon foot print and introduce entire new industries, while providing the raw materials for hundreds of natural based, none petroleum-based products. Since learning about hemp in the mid 80’s a few likeminded individuals embarked on a 30-year campaign to educate the public about hemp, which back then, was an uphill struggle. Back then, you weren’t even allowed to talk about it in public and I one case, the Town of Ashland barred us from holding a hemp rally at Stone Park. That year, Author of The Emperor Wears No Cloths, Jack Herer told the crowds about how many things can be made from hemp. Chris Conrad was also instrumental in educating the masses with Hemp, Lifeline to the Future.  Fast forward to 2016, working with Chris Walsh we got the Massachusetts Hemp Farming bill passed and is now law. But the Federal government still classified hemp along with marijuana which made it nearly impossible to grow it here without fear of retaliation from the Feds. All that has changed as of the signing of the Farm Bill. There’re only a few pages dedicated to hemp in the 800-page Farm Bill, but they are filled with great news for farmers across this country. Here are the highlights: Define industrial hemp broadly to cover all parts of the Cannabis plant including seeds, derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids etc as long as it has a THC level of 0.3% or less; remove hemp completely from the Controlled Substances Act (CSA); Make USDA the sole federal regulatory agency overseeing hemp cultivation; Include native American tribes which were not explicitly included in Sec. 7606 of the 2014 Farm Bill, Authorize and fund hemp research as part of the Supplemental and Alternative Crops program and the Critical Agricultural Materials Act; Authorize federal crop insurance for hemp; Require USDA to develop federal regulations for hemp farming that may be used in states that choose not to be the primary regulator; Require states wishing to have primary regulatory authority to submit a plan for regulation to USDA that meets minimum requirements; Repeals Sec. 7606 hemp research program 1 year after USDA establishes federal regulations for hemp farming; Require USDA to conduct a study of state hemp agricultural pilot programs. In Massachusetts our hemp regulations are: a practice to maintain relevant information regarding land on which hemp is produced; including a legal description of the land, a procedure for testing the crop; a procedure for conducting annual inspection (limited to one per year); a procedure for the effective disposal of products that are produced in violation, a procedure to comply with the enforcement procedures; a certification that the State or Indian tribe has the resources and personnel to carry out the requirements. Our founding fathers grew hemp, used it as currency and paid farmers to grow it here. Back then hemp was used for clothing, heating, paper, food for animals and humans as well as medicine. That all changed years later when industrialists like DuPont (who owned petroleum-based plastics and cholerine) and Randolph Hearst (who owned most of the timber rights and newspapers) decided they would get their buddies in government to wage a propaganda war against hemp using racism as a way to stop the workers in the fields who were black and Mexicans to protect the industries that competed with hemp. Starting Jan 1 of 2019, farmers around the country will begin to re-introduce industrial hemp to our economy. This time next year, hundreds of products will be in our homes and businesses. A few to mention are: clothing made from natural fibers, food for humans and animals, building materials like plyhemp and hemp Crete, dozens of natural medicines, biodiesel and home heating fuel from hemp oil, pellets for home heating devices, natural cosmetics, paint, varnishes and the biggest benefit is plastics that are bio degradable. Along with cardboard, carpeting, fiberglass and insulation. This plant will help reduce global warming, reduce our carbon foot print, bring much needed income to family farms that have struggled to stay alive. The value of hemp is estimated to be by 2020, 2.5 billion dollars and CBD products alone could be 1.3 billion dollars. Hemp will create hundreds of new jobs in every state that grows it. The U.S. imports approximately $60 million worth of hemp from overseas countries like China. It’s been a life long journey for me and I’m glad that I’m alive to see it come to fruition.

Hemp Hemp Hooray