Seventeen States Are Flat-Out Ignoring Federal Hemp Laws and Markets Are Thriving

This report was originally published by Michael Maharrey at FEE.org

Even with the liberalization of the law in 2014, the federal government still prohibits industrial hemp production for commercial purposes. But this hasn’t stopped more than a dozen states from developing commercial hemp markets anyway. They’ve simply ignored the federal laws, nullifying prohibition in effect within their borders.

Seventeen states specifically authorize and license commercial hemp production despite federal prohibition, and many other states allow commercial cultivation despite paying lip-service to federal law.

FEDERAL FARM BILL

In 2014, Congress cracked the door open for hemp in the U.S. with an amendment to the 2014 Farm Bill. The law allows hemp cultivation for research purposes, but prohibits “commercial” production.

The “hemp amendment” in the 2014 farm bill—

…allows State Agriculture Departments, colleges and universities to grow hemp, defined as the non-drug oilseed and fiber varieties of Cannabis, for academic or agricultural research purposes, but it applies only to states where industrial hemp farming is already legal under state law.

In 2016, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Drug Enforcement Agency released a “statement of principles” to guide interpretation of the hemp section in the Farm Bill. It states:

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