Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (KY-R) to Introduce Hemp Farming Act of 2018

Today, March 26th, 2018, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced his support of the Hemp Farming Act of 2018 to be introduced next month. The bi-partisan bill will “finally legalize hemp as an agricultural commodity and remove it from the list of Controlled Substances,” said Senator McConnell. If passed, this bill would continue to drive investment and innovation into the new agricultural economy, bringing jobs to Americans and introducing a new cash crop into farmer rotations.

Since 2014 hemp production has been permitted under Sec 7606 of the 2014 Farm Bill. Language in this bill opened hemp production for research purposes and at pilot scales in institutions of higher education and state’s Department of Agriculture. Since 2014 Kentucky, Colorado, Tennessee, Oregon, Virginia, North Dakota, and several of states have lead initiatives to open and improve production.

Over the last four years, farmers, processors and manufacturers like Sunstrand, Victory Hemp Foods, Ananda Hemp and many more have proven the efficacy of hemp markets as a fiber, food and nutritional therapeutics. These companies have established domestic supply chains in support of the industry. The Hemp Farming Act of 2018 would open grant funding and remove various roadblocks that Hemp Pilot Program participants have faced over the last four years.

According to McConnell, there is a lot of enthusiasm for hemp and he believes “hemp has a bright future in [Kentucky] and it’s now time to take the final step and make this a legal crop for every state that wants to file a plan with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.”

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