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Hemp For Victory!
It has been years of education, advocacy and just plain hard work by many hemp supporters in America to get to this historic moment for the hemp industry. The US Senate (87-13) and the US House 369-47 have now passed the long awaited 2018 Farm Bill. The President is fully expected to sign the bill into law very soon. This is the most important legislation for cannabis and more specifically hemp since the 1970’s Controlled Substances Act which erroneously vilified the extremely beneficial crop to our society, As we now unravel mistakes of the past, we have a huge opportunity in America to build a n economically beneficial and environmentally sustainable industry in the right way.
There are a lot of great hemp advocates to thank all across America for this accomplishment especially the folks on the VIHC Leadership Team, and far too many to mention across the Nation as it was truly a team effort from the many States. As for the Congressmen involved to be thanked, first and foremost we owe a great deal of gratitude to Senator Mitch McConnell (KY) who really pushed this accomplishment across the finish line. It was not easy and the road to victory was filled with roadblocks but he found a way to get the law passed. Other Senators played a big role in this, such as Rand Paul (KY), Ron Wyden (OR), and Jeff Merkley (OR). On the House side, Virginia played a big role as our own Congressman Bob Goodlatte worked hard behind the scenes to push for hemp legalization. His work was very important in the House side which was the harder road to victory. Many of the roadblocks which we got past were in the House and Bob Goodlatte deserves credit for helping get through those. Of course, other House members were integral to the process, especially Jamie Comer from Kentucky who led the charge. Also, House Reps Thomas Massie (KY), Jared Polis (CO), and Suzanne Bonamici (OR) helped move the ball forward over the years.
The 2018 Farm Bill has provisions which for all intents and purposes legalized hemp across America. The biggest piece of the legislation lies in the new definition of hemp in United States Code:
‘SEC. 297A. DEFINITIONS.
‘‘In this subtitle:
‘‘(1) HEMP
—The term ‘hemp’ means the plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part
of that plant, including the seeds thereof and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers, whether growing or not, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis.
The definition makes it perfectly clear that every part of the hemp plant growing or not, and its extracts like CBD are legal as long as they fall below the 0.3 Delta-9 THC threshold. Let there be no more grey area on the subject.
Our good friend Jonathan Miller who is the U.S. Hemp Roundtables General Counsel and worked hard to get this legislation through as well put out a great analysis on what the 2018 Farm Bill does for the hemp industry. Instead of repeating the same things its best to just read his two page brief with the link below:
https://hempsupporter.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/What-Does-the-Farm-Bill-Do-2.pdf
Also, the full text of the 2018 Farm Bill can be found here in the link below (the main part regarding hemp starts on page 429):
https://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20181210/CRPT-115hrpt1072.pdf
We have a lot to celebrate this week as hemp has finally gotten its due after a long advocacy and lobbying campaign but there is still a lot of work to do and we must be diligent as there are always going to be issues popping up regarding our industry. Now we must turn our attention to the Virginia government and make them give the citizens of our great state the economic opportunities in the hemp industry they fully deserve. Virginia can be a leader in the hemp industry for America, but we must see strong leadership and proactive measures in our State Government for this to happen.
The VIHC will be working in the upcoming months on legislation for the Virginia General Assembly to further the hemp industry in our State. We appreciate all the support we have received from you and we ask that you continue to support the work we do. We will keep working hard at the Federal and State level to continue to put hemp on the proper legal footing it deserves. It is challenging and sometimes in the work seems hopeless but as we keep pushing and moving forward, we keep making progress day in and day out. If you would like to become a member of the VIHC please CLICK HERE.
Thanks again for your support and LET’S GROW!
Warm Regards,
Jason Amatucci
VIHC Founder
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