By JORDAN STRICKLER Kentucky Correspondent WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a 20-1 vote, a draft 2018 farm bill has passed out of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee. Officially known as the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, it contains a provision that would legalize hemp production, championed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). The legislation, known as the Hemp Farming Act, would remove industrial hemp from the list of controlled substances under federal law. "I know there are farming communities all over the country who are interested in this," said McConnell. "Younger farmers in my state are particularly interested in going in this direction. We have a lot of people in my state who are extremely enthusiastic about the possibilities. “As we all know, hemp is very diversified." The United States is currently the No. 1 importer of hemp fiber, most of which it receives from China and Canada. To date, the U.S. is the only developed nation that has not advanced an industrial hemp crop for economic purposes. Experts suggest the U.S. market for hemp products is approximately $600 million per year. Currently hemp that is grown can be sold for profit only if authorized by a state's agricultural authorities. The past few years have seen several advancements through individual state legislatures, with 31 states now recognizing hemp as an industrial crop. In 2014, industrial hemp received a boost from Congress when that year’s farm bill allowed universities and state departments of agriculture to cultivate or conduct research as a part of a pilot program. According to the advocacy group Vote Hemp, 2017 production acres reached 23,346 in 18 states, more than twice the land used for planting in 2016, at 9,649 in 15 states. “Politicians on both sides of the political aisle are recognizing that the cultivation and manufacturing of hemp in the United States is crucial to empowering farmers nationwide to generate new income streams and further grow our agricultural economy,” said Hemp, Inc. CEO Bruce Perlowin. “The movement toward the federal legalization of hemp is gaining momentum as more states pass hemp legalization laws, and an increasing amount of policymakers support legalizing hemp on Capitol Hill.” The full farm bill will be put to a vote before the July 4 recess, according to experts. |
