By Brian Houlihan

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In recent years the reform of cannabis laws for recreational and medicinal purposes in American states has grabbed the headlines. Slowly but steadily cannabis regulation has swept across the USA.

Yet a story that has not attracted as much attention are the changes around hemp laws. Hemp is as much a victim of the ‘War on Drugs’ as its more psychoactive counterpart. For decades hemp cultivation and research was hampered by American lawmakers, but this has slowly started to change.

A new chapter in America’s hemp story is now unfolding, and a long overdue revival of the plant is now taking root. In recent years more states have returned to hemp cultivation, albeit under certain restrictions and for limited purposes.

An interesting footnote in America’s hemp story is that the Irish often got involved in the industry following their migration. There are countless stories of Irish migrants arriving in Boston in 1700's and using their weaving skills in the burgeoning hemp trade.

Stamp required under the ‘Marihuana Tax Act of 1937’

Hemp wasn’t federally outlawed until the 1970’s but restrictions around its use existed since the 1930's. During the 1930's when cannabis was outlawed hemp was guilty by association, despite having no psychoactive effects. The bureaucratic nature of the ‘Marihuana Tax Act of 1937’ effectively destroyed the hemp industry along with its intended purpose of outlawing cannabis.

Hemp returned briefly to American life during the Second World War. But this was due to military necessity and not political reconsideration. During the war materials like hemp became scarce. This somewhat disrupted the American war effort as hemp was required for cordage, parachutes and other essential items.

To rectify the matter the ‘Hemp for Victory’ campaign was launched in 1942. It was the brainchild of the US Department of Agriculture and it encouraged farmers to sow hemp. Free seeds were given out to farmers to entice them to join the campaign. Individuals were also eligible to have their military draft deferred if they stayed home and grew hemp.

Below is the official video for the campaign from 1942

‘Hemp For Victory’ from 1942

While restricted since the 1930's hemp was banned on a federal level with the ‘Controlled Substances Act of 1970’. But recent legal changes has seen hemp slowly return to American life. While its cultivation is limited to certain bodies and authorised for research purposes only, it is expected wider reforms will happen over the coming years.

The recent changes in attitudes began when US President Barack Obama signed the ‘Farm Bill’ into law on February 7th 2014. Part of this new law defines hemp as being distinct from cannabis and it allows research and pilot programs of hemp cultivation. However, only higher education institutes and State Department’s of Agriculture are authorised to cultivate hemp.

Section 7606 of the Farm Bill allows universities and state departments of agriculture to grow or cultivate industrial hemp if:

(1) the industrial hemp is grown or cultivated for purposes of research conducted under an agricultural pilot program or other agricultural or academic research; and (2) the growing or cultivating of industrial hemp is allowed under the laws of the State in which such institution of higher education or State department of agriculture is located and such research occurs.” The law also requires that the grow sites be certified by — and registered with — their state.

Since 2014 a number of states have started cultivating hemp such as Colorado, Vermont, West Virginia, Kentucky. More states are in the process of preparing or passing laws that will allow hemp cultivation and research. At least 28 states currently have laws relating to hemp, with many of these occurring since 2014.

The states with legal hemp take different approaches. Some states allow commercial hemp programs. Other states allow hemp research programs, while some states only allow studies of hemp or the hemp industry.

Hemp Law By State

A new bill will alter the landscape for hemp in America if it is passed into law. The ‘Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2015’ was introduced to the Senate in January last year. The bill would remove federal restrictions and allow the cultivation and manufacturing of hemp nationwide. Initially support for the bill was slow in coming but towards the end of last year it picked up some momentum.

Senator and presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders gave the bill a significant boost last October when he became its 10th co-sponsor. His endorsement meant (at that time) the bill had 5 sponsors from the Democrat and Republican parties. His presidential campaign and this bipartisan support brought the bill to national attention.

Currently the bill has 14 sponsors with the most endorsement just this month. The bill is due before the Senate and the House of Representatives on July 4th, the same day America celebrates Independence Day. Whether the bill passes remains to be seen but it is still a significant moment.

Bernie Sanders

This return of hemp to American life could provide an economic boost to the country.The hemp market was worth around $580 million in 2015. Most of the market demand was met by Canadian and Chinese imports. The revival of a domestic industry could see that money return to American farmers.

This $500 million could turn into billions if the widespread cultivation of hemp was allowed, and with the appropriate investments in equipment and facilities.

Hemp’s revival in the USA is to be welcomed as it could have a positive effect elsewhere. The ban (or restrictions) on hemp that exist in other countries are in part due to the America’s influence on global diplomacy. The ‘War on Drugs’, lead predominately by the USA, has restricted hemp cultivation in many countries.

Harvested hemp from a farm in Kentucky. October 2015. Photo by Charles Bertram.

Over the coming years interesting findings should also emerge as more states experiment with hemp. Research at the West Virginia University will investigate hemp’s ability to remove contaminants from the soil using a process known as phytoremediation. Hemp has previously been used for this purpose in places such as Chernobyl.

Other states, who can also only grow for research purposes, will be undertaking other interesting research projects in the years ahead. Hopefully we will learn more about the beneficial aspects of hemp.

While the regulation of cannabis in more states will steal the headlines the next few years are also significant ones for hemp in the USA. Lets hope the same can be said about hemp in Ireland.

Thanks for reading and be sure to visit us at 167 Capel Street in Dublin.

Brian Houlihan is the curator of the Dublin Hemp Museum and regularly writes about hemp. Follow him on Twitter at @dubhempmuseum and @houlihanbrian. You can also find us on Facebook.

You can find an archive of my blog posts here