About every 5 years congress formulates and passes a new federal farm bill. The last one was passed back in 2018 and was called the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018. A new one has been discussed since 2022 and will be passed this year of 2023. Farm Bills cover a variety of legislation that impacts how farming is done, what types of food is grown, regulations, food assistance, and more. So, what does this mean for cannabis hemp? Let’s take a dive into what information is available so far!

Brief History of Cannabis Hemp in Farm Bills

Cannabis hemp hasn’t been a part of many Farm Bills until recent years. The Farm Bill of 2014 was when the term “hemp” was made distinct from marijuana. It was defined as a cannabis sativa L. plant with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentration not more than 0.3% on a dry weight basis. This bill also established a hemp research pilot program, allowing hemp cultivation for higher education institutions and other state departments. It granted hemp production in States which had laws and regulations in place for production following the Farm Bill. It also remained illegal under Federal law and was still considered a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act still being lumped into marijuana.

Later the Farm Bill of 2018 expanded on these simple beginnings. The definition of hemp was updated removing it from the Controlled Substances Act definition of marijuana. It kept the same 0.3% dry weight basis of THC, and expanded the definition of the plants materials to include seeds and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers. Along with this updated term, it was removed from DEA oversight and generally removed restrictions for hemp on interstate commerce. It amended the Agricultural Marking Act of 1946 opening hemp production to federally legal USDA regulatory requirements. The bill also allowed hemp production to all states, territories, and tribal authority in the United States subjected to USDA approval and general licensing. Most important for many farmers, it made hemp production eligible for crop insurance and disaster programs. Finally, a scheduled repeal of the pilot program happened one year after the USDA had a handle on everything new in the farm bill. When this bill passed is when we saw a huge explosion in the CBD market, since it was now a top selling product being federally legalized.

Possible Cannabis Hemp Law Changes for 2023

So now that we have a basic understanding of the past two farm bills and how it affected hemp, what possible changes are in store for the Farm Bill of 2023? Nothing is final yet but here are some key changes we can expect.

An increase in the dry weight limit of THC. You heard that right, there is heavy lobbying for an increase in THC limit in hemp. The proposed limit would increase it to 1% or under compared to the current 0.3%. The reason behind raising this limit is to prevent the destruction of crops that fail testing. Also, this would allow for hemp breeders to work with more variety of strains to develop better adaptable strains for growing in various regions.

Another important change may be coming to the newly popular cannabinoids such as Delta-8, 10, 11, and others. Currently under the Farm Bill of 2018, the definition of hemp clearly states it is only about Delta-9 THC but does not mention anything about these other variations or other cannabinoids. Due to this these cannabinoids are technically federally legal and are currently bought and sold in many States in the USA. Currently some States such as Florida are already proposing and pushing forward with State specific laws outlawing these cannabinoids due to this oversight on the Federal Government when they passed the Farm Bill. Florida’s legislation could be active as soon as July 1st of 2023. If a change like this happens, it will most likely cause a major negative impact on the hemp industry seeing as many of these cannabinoids have become various top selling products.

Some other possible changes on the table are removing the DEA lab testing requirement on hemp. A revising of bank regulations, as currently it is very challenging for business accounts to be set up or connected to hemp production and processing. Also, a USDA stamp of approval may be coming to help assist in interstate commerce.

Stay Tuned for Further Updates

For now, there hasn’t been more updates on the status of the Farm Bill of 2023. We’ll be sure to bring back an updated report when the proposed bill is finalized and passed!