17 Nov Senate Majority Leader Guarantees Industrial Hemp Legalization
Just two weeks after Speaker of the House Paul Ryan expressed public support for the legalization of industrial hemp, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is now guaranteeing that the 2018 Farm Bill will include the industrial hemp legalization provision once the House and the Senate solve their difference regarding this issue.
If there’s a Farm Bill, it’ll be in there, I guarantee that,” McConnell told reporters last Friday.
(To watch McConnell’s hemp legalization guarantee, go to 13:15 into this video clip).
As we have discussed at length, the House and the Senate versions of the bill differ in that the House version is silent on the legalization of industrial hemp whereas the Senate version, which was introduced by the Senate Majority Leader himself, would remove the crop from the definition of “marijuana” under the Controlled Substance Act, and instead treat hemp like a standard agricultural crop. Indeed, although industrial hemp and marijuana are the same species, hemp contains a negligible amount of tetrahydrocannabinol (“THC”), the psychoactive compound that gives its users a high.
In justifying his support of the legalization of the crop, McConnell stressed the immense value and versatility of industrial hemp. In addition, McConnell declared that he became aware of the international implications of hemp legalization during his visits of hemp processors this past year and explained that major foreign investors have expressed interest in the hemp business, signaling the crop’s tremendous potential.
I don’t want to overstate this—I don’t know if it’s going to be the next tobacco or not—but I do think it has a lot of potential. And as all of you already know, in terms of food and medicine but also car parts…it’s an extraordinary plant.”
According to the Senate Majority Leader, once legalized, industrial hemp will be “lightly regulated” by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In addition, there will be no more federal involvement except for the issuance of crop insurances to hemp farmers—which is one of the most significant provisions included in the Senate version of the bill. Instead, industrial hemp would be regulated by local law enforcement, pursuant to the state program under which hemp farmers would be registered.
Although McConnell acknowledged that a provision pertaining to work requirements for food stamp recipients had caused delays in the enactment of the 2018 Farm Bill, he declared that the enactment of the bill will be one of his top priorities when Congress reconvenes for a lame-duck session.
The continuing public support for the legalization of industrial hemp by conservative Congressional leaders strongly suggests that the enactment of the 2018 Farm Bill is imminent, which is fantastic news!
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