Let’s face it, cannabis can be high maintenance when it comes to legal stuff. But, that’s where the Farm Bill comes in. The Farm Bill is legislation that outlines the national agricultural policies to help farmers provide high-quality and accurately labeled products to the nation’s consumers. New versions of the Farm Bill are passed every five years to ensure fair regulation and representation. In 2018, the current farm bill was passed and it changed the cannabis game. How? For the first time, the Farm Bill included hemp.
The Federal Drug Association (FDA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulate the farming of all agricultural products (including food and hemp) that are outlined in the Farm Bill. This regulation benefits consumers by giving them peace of mind in knowing that the products they are purchasing are both safe and effective. This peace of mind is crucial when the potential outcomes of illegal drug use are considered. Speaking of illegal, the current Farm Bill made hemp un-illegal. In other words, legal! Let’s talk about it.
How the Farm Bill legalized hemp
The 2018 Farm Bill was able to legalize hemp because (1) it required that hemp be regulated by the FDA and USDA, and (2) it differentiated hemp from its more psychotropic sister, marijuana. To explain, hemp and marijuana are both variants of the cannabis plant; however, they are sisters, not twins. The variants both contain the psychoactive component of the cannabis plant, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). However, they don’t contain the same amount – hemp is low in THC, but marijuana is high in THC.
In an effort to differentiate hemp from marijuana, the current Farm Bill redefined hemp as cannabis that has less than 0.3 percent THC. This redefinition helped legalize hemp by removing it from the Controlled Substances Act, the law that regulates illegal drugs.
How hemp can be sold and shipped
Now that hemp is legal, the next step is the fun part: consumption! The legalization of hemp also legalized the production and selling of hemp products under the condition that the policies outlined in the current Farm Bill are followed (i.e. that the hemp products contain less than 0.3 percent THC). In addition to producing and selling hemp products, the current Farm Bill also legalized the shipment of hemp products. For that reason, we are able to ship Mary & Jane products straight to your door, except where prohibited by state law. Sunny days are ahead, thanks to the Farm Bill!
Links:
Hemp Production and the 2018 Farm Bill – 07/25/2019 | FDA
The Farm Bill, hemp legalization and the status of CBD: An explainer | Brookings
The Farm Bill, hemp legalization and the status of CBD: An explainer | Brookings