The passage of the 2018 Farm Bill federally legalized industrial hemp and gave current and prospective farmers of the crop reason to celebrate. But the partial government shutdown, which entered its 27th day on Thursday, has put a damper on celebrations. Specifically, the impasse of government funding has stalled the implementation of the wide-ranging agriculture legislation, and that’s created uncertainty for farmers … Read More

Two Democratic senators from Oregon warned the Trump administration on Tuesday that they will be closely monitoring the implementation of industrial hemp legalization, stressing that the sale of cannabidiol (CBD) and other hemp-derived products should not be overly regulated under the 2018 Farm Bill. In a letter to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Jeff … Read More

Prospective hemp farmers in Utah will have to wait out the government shutdown before they’re able to legally grow the crop. Utah started allowing hemp cultivation under a state Department of Agriculture and Food program in November in accordance with research-focused provisions of the prior federal Farm Bill that was passed in 2014. But before farmers can take advantage of … Read More

President Donald Trump signed the 2018 Farm Bill—which legalizes industrial hemp after decades of the crop being caught up in broader cannabis prohibition—into law on Thursday. The signing ceremony represents the culmination of a months-long debate over various provisions of the wide-ranging agriculture legislation. But after the House and Senate Agriculture Committees reconciled their respective versions, the final Farm Bill easily passed in full … Read More

Just after President Donald Trump signed the 2018 Farm Bill into law on Thursday, legalizing industrial hemp, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a lengthy press release responding to the legislative development—including a pledge to pursue pathways that would allow businesses to legally market products containing cannabis or cannabis-derived compounds. The federal agency stressed that it retains the right to regulate products … Read More

People Searched For A Certain Cannabis Product A Lot In 2018, Google Says People in the U.S. were really interested in learning about cannabidiol (CBD) gummies in 2018, according to Google’s year-end trend report. “CBD gummies” was the third most popular food-related Google search of the year—following unicorn cake and romaine lettuce. If not for a recent E. coli outbreak on the latter … Read More

Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle are celebrating a hemp legalization provision that made it into the final version of the 2018 Farm Bill. Perhaps no one is more pleased than Senate Majority Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who fought for the provision over months of debate on the wide-ranging agriculture legislation. He even signed the conference report finalizing the bill language with a hemp pen on … Read More

The final text of the 2018 Farm Bill was released on Monday, and industrial hemp legalization made the cut. Votes to send the legislation to President Trump’s desk are expected this week. The bipartisan provision, championed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), will enable U.S. farmers to cultivate, process and sell hemp, the market for which is now a … Read More

The incoming chair of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee is considering growing hemp on his own farm after the passage of the Farm Bill, which contains provisions to legalize the crop. “I may grow some hemp on my farm. I’m looking at it,” Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN) told Minnesota Public Radio on Monday. “There’s a big market for this stuff that we’ve been ceding to … Read More