Some of you may have herd of the 2018 farm bill that was signed in to law as the Argicultural Improvement Act by president Trump in 2019. So what does that mean to you and the industry?
- Well to anyone that has been using CBD oils or other CBD products it means that it will become easier and easier to get access to quality cbd products that are hemp based.
- For the industry it means that it finally becomes more legitimized and will allow hemp farmers to get insurance for crops and other benefits that all other farmers are entitles to.
- Businesses that are selling Hemp products will no longer have trouble finding banks and merchant processors to deal with.
- Hemp becomes regulated by the FDA and not the DEA and it looses its classification as a drug.
Here Is A Great Video We Found On The Agricultural Improvement Act
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This new law is a real game changer for CBD and the Hemp industry as a whole and a big step towards more research being conducted on the health benefits of CBD products.
Read More About The Argicultural Improvement Act
We added a transcript of the above video for anyone wanting to read more on this instead of watch the video.
Some edits to the transcript were made in order to organize it better was well as it making more sense to anyone wanting to read more on this farm bill.
December 20th 2018 was a historic day for the cannabis plant
When the President signed into law the Agricultural Improvement Act otherwise known as the Tony 18 farm bill and contained in that act were the magical combination of words to formally remove hemp from the Controlled Substances list and separate it from marijuana and treat it like a standard agricultural commodity on the same page as wheat corn and soy commodities that are so important to American agriculture.
Big Take Away From The Agricultural Improvement Act
- This is a big deal for a few reasons but basically hemp is fully legal for the first time since the 1930s overall this is really really good news and here are some of the main positive changes that immediately are gonna take effect from these new laws for one hemp is officially removed from the Controlled Substances list and separated by definition from marijuana before this it was wrapped up with marijuana and was included in the Controlled Substances list as a Schedule one drug in the same category as heroin which was totally absurd
- Second the definition of hemp has been expanded to include CBD, Cannabinoids and other derived cbd products from hemp so it’s not just the stock and the seed anymore these laws also make it so that the US Department of Agriculture is in charge of the hemp laws on a federal level and this Act allows for states local and tribal governments to create their own hemp laws it’s different from the federal law as long as the USDA approves of them with all those positive changes it means that hemp farmers are now going to be able to get crop insurance apply for federal grants and loans also they can apply for certain crop certifications in different government programs and lastly it specifically states that the interstate trade of hemp products and hemp material is allowed.
- Some less positive language that was in this agriculture improvement relates to felons specifically that felons are not allowed to participate in the hemp industry and the second kind of weird aspect to all this is that the FDA now has say over how CBD can be treated and used in products this is a good thing because it’s no longer a matter of the DEA the Drug Enforcement Agency but now we have to wait for the FDA to come out with the right legislation this legislation reiterates that the FDA has the authority to control how CBD and hemp derived compounds are used in consumable products.
The FDA has this authority because of something called the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act which gives them the final say on which drug compounds or plant extracts can be used in ingestible products so what we can expect to see in 2019 is a few things for one we’re gonna see more mainstream retailers feel okay bringing CBD products onto their shelves also we’re gonna see e-commerce businesses banks insurance agents and companies like that more able to freely work with hemp companies.
In the past companies in the industry have had to use high risk merchant processors that charge high fees and had some troubles with banking and getting loans but now hopefully all of that will start to go away with these new federal laws and as mentioned before this is no longer a DEA matter it’s a USDA and an FDA thing so with all that being said there’s still a lot of work that still needs to be done.
Things That Will Still Need To Be Worked On
- For one now that this federal change has been signed into law it’s up to state and local governments to come up with their own policies and their own programs so that their local farmers can start participating in this industry.
- We’re also going to have to wait for major corporations and banks to change their own internal policies to reflect the new federal changes.
- The most important piece of the puzzle that still has to come together is that the current FDA policy as it stands is that CBD is not allowed in any food drink or dietary supplement and if you’re thinking hey isn’t that practically every CBD product out there well you’d be right. This policy by the FDA has been in place since before this new farm bill was passed and the reality is that the precedent has been set for them not to take action even though they specifically state that they do not approve of CBD being used in supplements and drinks and foods. We see an abundance of that out on the market and the only companies that they’ve ever given a warning letter to have been companies that specifically make over-the-top health claims.
- So although the FDA has yet to come out with a new statement to reflect these federal changes they have come out and said that they’re aware of the massive public interest in this space and that they’re going to be reconsidering their position and coming out with a new statement soon so whenever that does happen you can be sure I will make another video covering the new FDA policies in the meantime what you can do to support this emerging hemp industry is to buy cbd edibles and oils from quality brands not only is it good for your health but it’s also good for the environment and it’s good for this young industry that needs all the support that it can get.
In conclusion, these new hemp laws completely remove it from marijuana on a federal level allow it to be a normal egg recover armors can start thrown into their fields this upcoming planting season and it allows totally
unrestricted access for interstate trade and is going to open up into larger retailers big banks and other corporations will be able to work with hemp companies in a much freer and out in the open way that’s all.
