On December 20, 2018, the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 was signed into law and among its most discussed provisions are those removing hemp from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.

The Secretary of Agriculture and the respective USDA agencies are working to implement the provisions of the 2018 Farm Bill as expeditiously as possible. To allow for public input and ensure transparency, USDA determined to hear from stakeholders regarding their priorities, concerns, and requests.

The USDA’s Specialty Crops Program is conducting a listening session (by webinar) to solicit public comments on the sections of the 2018 USDA Farm Bill relative to multiple sections dealing with industrial hemp.

The listening session will be on March 13, 2019, and will begin at 12:00 pm EST and conclude by 3:00 pm.

USDA is drafting a regulation that will provide details on sampling procedures, testing requirements, licensing, compliance and other procedures that production facilities and overseeing agencies need to employ to receive a license from USDA. The 2018 Farm Bill requires each plan to include:

a practice to maintain relevant information regarding land on which hemp is produced in the State or territory of the Indian tribe, including a legal description of the land, for a period of not less than 3 calendar years;

a procedure for testing, using postdecarboxylation or other similarly reliable methods, delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration levels of hemp produced in the State or territory of the Indian tribe;

a procedure for the effective disposal of plants, whether growing or not, that are produced in violation of this subtitle; and products derived from those plants;

a procedure to comply with the enforcement procedures under subsection (e) of the Farm Bill;

a procedure for conducting annual inspections of, at a minimum, a random sample of hemp producers to verify that hemp is not produced in violation of this subtitle; and more.

You must register by March 11, 2019, to speak during the listening session and to provide oral comments during the listening session. Register in advance at https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_L2G9K7cXTkayQ2O1_0AP0g

The 2018 Farm Bill is remarkable because by removing hemp from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act it creates opportunities for hemp and its derived products, including hemp CBD oil.

DISCLAIMER: “Federal and state laws [should] be changed to no longer make it a crime to possess marijuana for private use.” – Richard M. Nixon, 1972. Despite that statement, be aware that possessing, using, distributing and selling marijuana are all federal crimes and may be state crimes. Beyond this disclaimer this article is not intended to give you criminal law advice or for that matter any legal advice.