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Congress\u2019s research arm is giving lawmakers a crash course on hemp in a new report, describing various elements of the burgeoning market and explaining policy challenges.<\/p>\n
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) released the short report\u2014titled \u201cProduction, Marketing, and Regulation of Hemp Products\u201d\u2014on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
It says there are \u201cthree leading markets for hemp, each based on the part of the plant used: fiber, seed\/grain, and flower.\u201d However, CRS notes that some observers suggest \u201ca separate, marketable category exists for the plant\u2019s extracted compounds\u201d such as CBD oil.<\/p>\n
While the report doesn\u2019t contain any particularly novel revelations, it\u2019s another sign of the normalization of cannabis in Congress after hemp was federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill.<\/p>\n
CRS described the wide range of uses for hemp, including \u201cfabrics and textiles, yarns and spun fibers, paper, carpeting, home furnishings, construction and insulation materials, and biocomposites.\u201d<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\nVia CRS.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
But when it comes to hemp in the U.S. market, the category that\u2019s arguably generated the most interest is cannabinoid-infused\u00a0 dietary supplements and food items\u2014primarily CBD products that are marketed for a variety of health purposes.<\/p>\n
That also happens to be the most complicated category when it comes to federal regulations, as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)\u2014rather than the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)\u2014has jurisdiction over that area and has not yet developed rules allowing for CBD products in the food supply.<\/p>\n
\u201cFDA continues to restrict the marketing of food or dietary supplements containing added CBD\u2014regardless of whether it is derived from hemp\u2014and continues to evaluate the scientific research related to such consumer products,\u201d the report states.<\/p>\n
CRS also notes that legislation has been introduced this Congress<\/a> that would allow derivatives such as CBD to be used in consumable products like foods, drinks and dietary supplements.<\/p>\n \u201cCannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) are considered to be the most abundant cannabinoids in cannabis, as well as the most medically valuable and most researched cannabinoids due to their physiological effects,\u201d CRS said<\/a>. \u201cCBD and other known cannabinoids exist in both hemp and marijuana but in varying amounts. CBD is promoted as treatment for a range of medical conditions, despite limited scientific evidence to substantiate many of these claims.\u201d<\/p>\n The report notably does not weigh in on the increasingly popular cannabinoid delta-8-THC, which can be derived from legal hemp but which is not explicitly regulated under federal statute. It exists in an especially grey legal area, but has so far not been addressed in congressional legislation despite becoming increasingly popular in the marketplace for its psychoactive properties. A number of states, however, have been taking action to clarify that they consider delta-8-THC to have the same status as delta-9-THC for the purposes of potency limitations.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, \u201csome Members of Congress continue to introduce legislation involving hemp,\u201d the report says. \u201cIn the 117th Congress, S. 1005 would modify the statutory definition of hemp and would relax certain regulatory requirements governing USDA\u2019s oversight of hemp cultivation.\u201d<\/p>\n That bill, introduced by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) in March<\/a>, would also triple the concentration of THC that the crop could legally contain.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, USDA announced in April<\/a> that it is teaming up with a chemical manufacturing company on a two-year project that could significantly expand the hemp-based cosmetics market.<\/p>\n USDA also recently announced that it is seeking permission to\u00a0collect additional data on hemp production<\/a>\u00a0from tens of thousands of farmers and ranchers.<\/p>\n Last year, the agency announced plans to distribute a separate national survey to gain insights from thousands of hemp businesses<\/a>\u00a0that could inform its approach to regulating the industry.<\/p>\n Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who is widely considered an ally of the hemp industry, also signed off on national hemp regulations<\/a>\u00a0following a departmental review that began during the Biden presidential transition. Those rules formally took effect on March 22.<\/p>\n USDA\u00a0released the final rule in January<\/a>\u2014about two years after the crop was federally legalized. Industry stakeholders say the enactment of these regulations generally represents a positive step forward that will provide businesses with needed guidance, but they\u2019ve also pointed to a number of policies that they hope to revise as the market matures such as USDA\u2019s hemp testing requirements.<\/p>\n Even as USDA has crafted its rules and\u00a0built up advisory committees that involve hemp business representatives<\/a>, it has spent past months reviewing and approving numerous state and tribal regulatory proposals<\/a>.<\/p>\n Nine In Ten Texas Voters Support Legalizing Marijuana In Some Form, Poll Finds<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Pixabay<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Congressional Report Gives Lawmakers An Overview Of Hemp Market And Policy Challenges<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Congress\u2019s research arm is giving lawmakers a crash course on hemp in a new report, describing various elements of the burgeoning market and explaining policy challenges. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) released the short report\u2014titled \u201cProduction, Marketing, and Regulation of Hemp Products\u201d\u2014on Tuesday. It says there are \u201cthree leading marketsContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":48499,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48498"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48498"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48498\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48500,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48498\/revisions\/48500"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: Congressional Report Gives Lawmakers An Overview Of Hemp Market And Policy Challenges<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"