The 2018 Farm Bill allows states and tribes to submit a plan and apply for a primary regulatory authority over hemp production in their state or tribal territory. As described in the USDA`s preliminary final rule, a state plan must include certain requirements, such as land tracking, methods of analysis, and removal of plants or products that exceed the permitted concentration of THC. Within 60 days, the USDA will review plans submitted by a state to the agency and make a decision with the goal of giving states sufficient time to implement their plan before the 2020 hemp season. USDA provides updated information on the status of submitted state and tribal plans. Pilot programs authorized to study hemp (often referred to as « industrial hemp »), which have been approved by both the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the state Department of Agriculture. This allowed for a small-scale expansion of hemp cultivation for limited purposes. The 2018 Farm Bill is broader. It allows hemp cultivation in general, not just pilot programs to study market interest in hemp products. It explicitly authorizes the transfer of hemp products across state borders for commercial or other purposes. It also contains no restrictions on the sale, transportation or possession of hemp products, as long as these items are manufactured in accordance with the law.

The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) deals with the non-academic research aspects of industrial hemp. Researchers must continue to follow the guidelines in Section 7606 of the 2014 Farm Bill. The problem of interstate commerce arises when something, like industrial hemp, is legal in some states and illegal in others. There are still four states where hemp cultivation is not legal, and since the passage of the Farm Bill in 2018, the issue of transportation has been a gray area. For example, earlier this year, Idaho State Police seized a $1.3 million truck containing hemp legally grown in Oregon and en route to Colorado for processing. In the 2018 Farm Bill and in a legal memo, the USDA affirmed a state`s right to enact and enforce laws regulating hemp production within its borders, but explicitly stated that a state or Native American tribe cannot restrict the transportation of hemp within its borders. These new rules reaffirm that there must be no restrictions on the transport of hemp, allowing farmers access to domestic markets. Learn more about the regulatory status of state and tribal hemp programs by visiting the AMS Hemp Production website.

It`s only been seven months since the 2018 Farm Bill removed hemp, which contains low-THC derivatives of cannabis, such as CBD products, from the CSA`s definition of marijuana. I cannot stress enough the importance of this political change. Prior to the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, the CSA did not distinguish between marijuana and hemp, and all cannabis (with a few exceptions, such as sterilized seeds and mature stems of the plant) was a Schedule I substance and was therefore controlled by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Early clinical research interested in clinical research focused on developing drugs using THC instead of CBD. More recently, interest in CBD as a drug is on the rise, and as mentioned above, in 2018, the FDA approved Epidiolex, a drug used to treat two severe forms of seizures in children. The passage of the 2018 Farm Bill led to the misperception that all products made from or containing hemp, including those made with CBD, can now be legally sold in interstate commerce. The result has been that storefronts and online retailers have flooded the market with these products, many with unsubstantiated therapeutic claims. The FDA has seen CBD in a variety of products, including foods, supplements, veterinary drugs, and cosmetics. As this new market emerges, we have seen significant interest from industry, consumers and Congress. However, amid excitement and innovation, the FDA`s role remains the same: to protect and promote public health.

The 2018 Farm Bill changed federal policy on hemp, including removing hemp from the Controlled Substances Act and treating hemp as an agricultural product. The bill legalized hemp under certain restrictions and defined hemp as the plant species Cannabis sativa L.