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GOP House leaders have released a draft version of large-scale agriculture legislation that could reduce regulatory barriers for certain hemp farmers and scale-back a ban on industry participation by people with prior drug felony convictions. The legislation also omits any provisions that would ban hemp-derived cannabinoid products that some parties have pushed for.<\/p>\n
The House Agriculture Committee unveiled the draft 2024 Farm Bill on Friday\u2014just days before a scheduled markup next week. It would build upon the federal legalization of the crop under the 2018 version of the legislation in several meaningful ways, though hemp stakeholders caution there may be attempts to undermine the industry with amendments.<\/p>\n
One of the key changes that\u2019s included in the current draft would revise the definition of hemp, creating separate categories for producers who grow the crop for cannabinoid extraction for human and animal consumption and for \u201cindustrial hemp\u201d producers who cultivate it for fiber, grain, oil and seed not intended for consumption.<\/p>\n
Under the draft legislation, those who are licensed as \u201cindustrial hemp\u201d producers could see reduced regulatory restrictions, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), states and Indian tribes empowered to authorize visual inspections and \u201cperformance-based sampling methodologies\u201d for compliance purposes.<\/p>\n
Farmers growing hemp to extract cannabinoids for human or animal consumption, however, would continue to be subject to more intensive inspections and laboratory testing as prescribed under the 2018 Farm Bill.<\/p>\n
The revised inspection and testing provisions were \u201cinspired\u201d by a bipartisan bill titled the \u201cIndustrial Hemp Act\u201d<\/a> that was introduced last year by Reps. Matt Rosendale (R-MT) and Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), a section-by-section summary says.<\/p>\n Also, the newly released legislation would allow USDA to independently accredit laboratories to conduct the sample testing. That would help resolve bottlenecking issues that\u2019s beleaguered the industry, as the current law requires farmers to have their products tested only by a limited number of Drug Enforcement Administration- (DEA) certified labs.<\/p>\n Another proposed change to federal hemp statute would make it so USDA, states and tribal entities could choose to eliminate a policy that prevents people with felony drug convictions in the past 10 years from being licensed to produce industrial hemp.<\/p>\n However, advocates are hoping to see more expansive language, such as what\u2019s described in Senate Democrats\u2019 recent summary of their forthcoming Farm Bill draft<\/a>. Under that plan, there would be a mandate to eliminate the ban, rather than simply authorizing it, and it would cover all hemp producers, not just those growing it for non-extraction purposes.<\/p>\n That said, the Senate Agriculture Committee has not yet released the draft text of their bill, so it remains to be seen if the summary description matches what will ultimately be released. Bipartisan House lawmakers filed standalone legislation last year that would broadly lift the felony ban for would-be hemp producers<\/a>.<\/p>\n While the House bill<\/a> contains a number of priorities that a coalition of hemp organizations and businesses had put forth, the industry is especially encouraged by what\u2019s not<\/em> in the draft legislation: a ban on most hemp-derived cannabinoids.<\/p>\n Paradoxically, select marijuana businesses have found themselves on the same side as prohibitionists<\/a> in pushing such a ban. In a letter to congressional leaders last month, the U.S. Cannabis Council (USCC) proposed specific language they wanted to see included that would place hemp-derived cannabinoids containing any amount of THC under the definition of federally illegal marijuana.<\/p>\n While they\u2019ve focused on the need to address public safety concerns related to unregulated \u201cintoxicating\u201d cannabinoid products such as delta-8 THC, some hemp industry advocates say the effect of the proposed language could be a ban on virtually all non-intoxicating CBD products as well, as most on the market contain at least trace levels of THC, consistent with the Farm Bill definition of hemp that allows for up to 0.3 percent THC by dry weight.<\/p>\n Hemp industry stakeholders have recognized that there\u2019s a need to address legitimate concerns related to the unregulated market that\u2019s proliferated since hemp was federally legalized, but the solution they\u2019ve put forward is to enact strategic regulations to ensure product safety and prevent youth access.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are very pleased with this draft,\u201d Jonathan Miller, general counsel for the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, told Marijuana Moment on Friday. \u201cFour of our top priorities that we joined with 33 other organizations on are found in this bill, which is really exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n He added that his organization is particularly pleased to see that there\u2019s \u201cnothing negative\u201d in the draft text that \u201ccould potentially ban popular hemp products, as has been rumored.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, there is an amendment process, and we\u2019re going to be vigilant to try to oppose anything that would wreak havoc on that product industry,\u201d Miller said.<\/p>\n First, on the positive side: The newly-released Farm Bill draft includes 4 major priorities of the Roundtable and the coalition of 33 hemp non-profit organizations that joined several months ago to share the industry\u2019s consensus agenda.<\/p>\n \u2014 US Hemp Roundtable (@HempRoundtable) May 17, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The House Appropriations Committee draft bill also includes a provision that says businesses that \u201cknowingly\u201d misidentify themselves as \u201cindustrial hemp\u201d producers potentially subjected to reduced restrictions \u201cshall be ineligible to participate in the program established under this section for a period of 5 years beginning on the date of the violation.\u201d<\/p>\n Another component of the legislation would prevent state agencies from denying public assistance benefits to people simply because they have a felony drug conviction or because they\u2019ve failed to \u201csatisfy an action required under a Federal, State, or local law relating to a means-tested public assistance program that was required as a result of a felony drug conviction.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, state marijuana regulators have proposed updating the agriculture legislation with provisions clarifying states\u2019 rights to enact their own regulations for hemp-based intoxicating cannabinoids, citing instances where there\u2019s been litigation asserting that federal law preempts such rulemaking.<\/p>\n \u201cFederal clarification of states\u2019 existing authority is thus essential to allow states to continue to protect public health and integrity in the hemp industry\u2014as the 2018 Farm Bill always intended,\u201d three executives with the Cannabis Regulators Association (CANNRA)\u00a0said in a recent letter to congressional leaders.<\/p>\n CANNRA had previously recommended to Congress in a letter last year that\u00a0lawmakers adjust the federal definition of hemp<\/a>\u00a0and modify rules around hemp-derived cannabinoids.<\/p>\n Lawmakers and stakeholders have also been eyeing a number of other proposals that could be incorporated into the Farm Bill\u2014and which could come up as proposed amendments as the proposal moves through the legislative process\u2014including measures to free up hemp businesses to legally market products like CBD<\/a>\u00a0as dietary supplements or in the food supply.<\/p>\n \u2014 Meanwhile, the hemp market started to rebound in 2023 after suffering significant losses the prior year, the\u00a0latest annual industry report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)<\/a>\u00a0that was released last month found.<\/p>\n The\u00a0data\u00a0is the\u00a0result\u00a0of a\u00a0survey that USDA mailed to thousands of hemp farmers\u00a0across the U.S.<\/a>\u00a0in January. The\u00a0first version of the department\u2019s hemp report<\/a>\u00a0was released in early 2022, setting a \u201cbenchmark\u201d to compare to as the industry matures.<\/p>\n Bipartisan lawmakers and industry stakeholders have sharply criticized FDA for declining to enact regulations for hemp-derived CBD, which they say is largely responsible for the economic stagnation.<\/p>\n To that end,\u00a0FDA Commissioner Robert Califf testified before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee<\/a>\u00a0last month, where he faced questions about the agency\u2019s position that it needed additional congressional authorization to regulate the non-intoxicating cannabinoid.<\/p>\n USDA is also reportedly\u00a0revoking hemp licenses for farmers who are simultaneously growing marijuana<\/a>\u00a0under state-approved programs, underscoring yet another policy conflict stemming from the ongoing federal prohibition of some forms of the cannabis plant.<\/p>\n For the time being, the hemp industry continues to face unique regulatory hurdles that stakeholders blame for the crop\u2019s value plummeting in the short years since its legalization. Despite the economic conditions, however, a recent report found that\u00a0the hemp market in 2022 was larger than all state marijuana markets<\/a>, and it roughly equaled sales for craft beer nationally.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, internally at USDA, food safety workers are being\u00a0encouraged to exercise caution and avoid cannabis products<\/a>, including federally legal CBD, as the agency observes an \u201cuptick\u201d in positive THC tests amid \u201cconfusion\u201d as more states enact legalization.<\/p>\n 69% Of American Voters\u2014Including Majority Of Republicans\u2014Support Marijuana Legalization, Fox News Poll Finds<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The post GOP House Leaders Propose Reducing Regulatory Barriers For Some Hemp Growers In Draft Farm Bill<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
GOP House leaders have released a draft version of large-scale agriculture legislation that could reduce regulatory barriers for certain hemp farmers and scale-back a ban on industry participation by people with prior drug felony convictions. The legislation also omits any provisions that would ban hemp-derived cannabinoid products that some partiesContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":75408,"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\/75407"}],"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=75407"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75407\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75409,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75407\/revisions\/75409"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75408"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: GOP House Leaders Propose Reducing Regulatory Barriers For Some Hemp Growers In Draft Farm Bill<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"