Hemp, cannabis’ non-psychoactive relative has finally been given a pass by the U.S. Senate, just in time for the 4th of July.
On Thursday, the omnibus agriculture and food policy legislation called the 2018 Farm Bill passed with an 86-11 vote to legalize the cultivation, processing and sale of industrial hemp. It has also been removed from the federal list of controlled substances - a classification it shared with marijuana and heroin - now to be sold as an agricultural commodity. Hemp is a strain of cannabis that has less than 0.3% THC (the psychoactive drug in marijuana) and it isn’t a consumable that can get someone high. Its fibres have actually been used to produce anything from food, oil, paper, rope and textile clothing to biodegradable plastic.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) was one of the driving forces behind including hemp to the bill and seeing it pass. In a statement issued after the bill’s overall passing, McConnel specifically pointed to hemp as something that he was particularly excited about, and the provision that would empower farmers to begin cultivating industrial hemp – “a crop that could play a key role going forward in Kentucky's economy and in the Nation’s.”
In addition to being regulated by states, Senator McConnel added that hemp farmers will be eligible for crop insurance. This will be a huge benefit to farmers, Colorado-based LoCo Farms owner Dani Billings said in an interview.
“Last year we dealt with early frost that came in in mid-October and it wiped out our whole crop. Over a hundred acres it wiped out.”
Farmers have had to buy their own insurance to make sure that something like this wouldn't end up being a total loss.
Should this lead to a boom in hemp production, easing of laws, opening of bank accounts and government acceptance, could open up a massive industry for American farmers. In Canada, Saskatoon's Hemp Genetics International’s operations manager Kevin Friesen told The Globe and Mail that hemp farming is “twice the profit” compared to traditional farming “… but twice the work”. Farmers can earn between $620 - $1,240 (CDN) per hectare of hemp, compared to $495 a hectare growing canola.
This also spells good news for the growing number of companies dealing with hemp-based CBD products (cannabidiol). It is estimated that the CBD market will reach $2.1 billion in consumer sales by 2020, $450 million of that coming from sources based from hemp. Research has been one major hurdle to seeing this come to fruition, but in passing the Farm Bill, hemp researchers can now apply for grants from the U.S. Agriculture Department.
Hemp cultivation has had a colourful history in the United States. It was regularly used by Native Americans prior to 
colonization. In 1937, the industry took a downtown as the government restricted cannabis growth and cheaper low-quality synthetic fibre imports became more common. Growing hemp withered as transfer taxes made it uneconomical for farmers. Hemp was briefly legal in the U.S. during World War II. The country encouraged its farmers to grow it to help the war effort after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbour and subsequently cut off hemp shipments from the Philippines.
38,100 tonnes of hemp fibre were produced from 1942 to 1946 to make products like rope and cloth. The U.S. Department of Agriculture launched a pro-hemp campaign, distributing more than 181,000 kg of seeds and producing the film “Hemp for Victory”.
The 2018 Farm Bill still needs to be merged with a competing document before it is signed by the President.
For more info on hemp production in North America, visit:
CROP Infrastructure Corp. (CSE:C.CROP, OTCQB:CRXPF, Forum)
Global Hemp Group Inc. (CSE: C.GHG, OTCQB: GBHPF, Forum)
Isodiol International Inc. (CSE: ISOL, OTCQB: ISOLF, Forum)
Naturally Splendid Ltd. (TSX: V.NSP, OTCQB:NSPDF, Forum)
Phivida Holdings Inc. (CNX: C.VIDA, OTCQB:PHVAF, Forum)
Wahupta Ventures Inc.
FULL DISCLOSURE: Global Hemp Group Inc., Naturally Splendid Ltd., Phivida Holdings Inc. and Wahupta Ventures are all clients of Stockhouse Publishing.