Senate Passes Hemp Legalization Provision in 2018 Farm Bill

By Dalton Rosario

After an overwhelmingly positive bi-partisan response in the Senate voting 87-13 in favor of the 2018 Farm Bill, its latest provision officially includes legalizing industrial hemp beginning in 2019.

After months of reconciliation between the Senate and House Agriculture Committees, the bill will be passed to the House for a final vote before year’s end.

Upon approval the bill will then be sent to the executive office for President Trump to sign into law, to which Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) commented, “I’d be happy to lend him [President Trump] my hemp pen for the occasion.”

Boosting America’s agricultural industry with the legalization of hemp and its multifaceted applications is a topic which has been well received by both sides of the aisle as Republicans and Democrats have collaborated for months to bring this provision to fruition.

Moving forward into the new year, when this bi-partisan legislation is signed into law, industrial hemp will be regulated by the Department of Agriculture as opposed to current oversight by the Department of Justice.