AHPA is endorsing federal legislation recently introduced to decriminalize hemp and the AHPA Board of Trustees has adopted a policy for the association to support any future state or federal legislation to decriminalize the plant and all its derivatives.

AHPA announced formal support for the Hemp Farming Act of 2018 ( S. 2667 and H.R. 5485), bipartisan legislation that would legalize and clearly define hemp (and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, and seeds) as an agricultural commodity and remove it from the list of controlled substances. The legislation would also give states the opportunity to become the primary regulators of hemp, allow hemp researchers to apply for competitive federal grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and make hemp farmers eligible to apply for crop insurance.

"Hemp products are manufactured, sold and consumed in the U.S., so it makes sense that hemp should also be grown in the U.S." said AHPA President Michael McGuffin. "Reforming outdated federal hemp policies would spur innovation and growth and help the hemp industry create jobs and new opportunities for farmers and manufacturers."

The bill defines hemp as the plant Cannabis spp. and all its derivatives with a THC concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis. It was introduced in early April in the Senate by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and in the House by Reps. James Comer (R-KY) and Jared Polis (D-CO).

AHPA's endorsement of this bill in inline with a recently adopted policy to support any state or federal legislation that would decriminalize the cultivation, possession, or use of hemp and all its derivatives. AHPA's Board of Trustees recently adopted the policy to enable AHPA staff to immediately express support for legislation that would decriminalize hemp and any part of that plant, including seeds and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers, whether growing or not.