Most of the conversation today revolves around the decriminalization of cannabis. As important it is to take cannabis off the schedule I list, it’s equally important to get hemp legal. This new bill might do something to help that.
Congressman James Comer (R-KY-1) and 15 co-sponsors have reintroduced legislation to amend the federal Controlled Substances Act to exclude industrial hemp.
Currently, the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 labels hemp as a Schedule I drug.
H.R. 3530 excludes low-THC strains of cannabis grown for industrial purposes from the federal definition of marijuana.
The majority of US states have already enacted legislation redefining hemp as an agricultural commodity and allowing for its cultivation.
In 2014, members of Congress approved language in the omnibus federal Farm Bill explicitly authorizing states to sponsor hemp research absent federal reclassification of the plant.
All parts of the hemp plant can be cultivated and used to produce everyday household items.
It can be grown as a renewable source for raw materials such as clothing, paper, construction materials, and biofuel.
Not only is it useful, but growing hemp is much more environmentally friendly than traditional crops.
According to the Congressional Research Service, the United States is the only developed nation in which industrial hemp is not an established crop.