National Hemp Association: 2017 Year in Review

Source: nationalhempassociation.org

Legislative Efforts

H.R. 3530, the Industrial Hemp Farming Act, Released: On July 28, a bi-partisan, multi-ideological coalition, led by Rep. James Comer (R-KY), introduced H.R. 3530, which would permanently remove industrial hemp from the purview of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). 

Once enacted, the bill will catapult the agricultural commodity into the mainstream of U.S. commerce and offer U.S. farmers significant new economic opportunity. Industry groups, including the influential American Farm Bureau Federation and National Farmers’ Union, have endorsed the bill as a key agricultural priority. 

Early 2018 should bring House hearings on the bill, as well as the introduction of a Senate companion by Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Rand Paul (R-KY), and Ron Wyden (D-OR). We are very optimistic about the Industrial Hemp Farming Act becoming law in 2018.

USDA Confirms the Legality of Interstate Sale of Farm Bill Hemp: DEA’s mixed messages about the legality of hemp grown in Farm Bill states prompted the National Hemp Association to facilitate a letter to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture from USDA Acting Under Secretary Ann Bartuska, which confirmed the protections of the Farm Bill and Omnibus Law. 

In pertinent part, USDA stated: “We think it is clear that section 7606 [of the Farm Bill] contemplated the sale and transport of industrial hemp for purposes of the pilot programs authorized by section 7606 under a limited set of circumstances; namely, those involving the study of industrial hemp marketing.”

H.R. 4711, the Industrial Hemp Banking Act, Released: In December, Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY), joined by Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), introduced H.R. 4711 in an effort to help deal with a continuing problem for our industry: assuring financial institutions that it is legal to engage in transactions involving hemp. 

Upon the advice of the Roundtable, Rep. Barr included language that extends protection to third parties down the supply chain that use Farm Bill hemp, as well as companies that engage “in commerce with industrial hemp products that are exempted from the definition of a controlled substance under the [CSA].” 

The latter provision contemplates hemp transactions in the wake of H.R. 3530 and/or replacement of the pilot program regime by a permanent exemption of hemp from the CSA.