Industrial hemp, used in products from clothes to health aids, could be the new cash crop for small farms, perhaps the successor to tobacco for making money on limited acreage, said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday. The Kentucky Republican mildly turned away complaints that he is giving special and speedy treatment to his bill to legalize production of the crop.
“I think it is time to act. People have figured out this is not the other plant [marijuana],” said McConnell shortly before the Senate Agriculture Committee approved a five-year farm bill with industrial hemp as a rider. “I think it is an important new development in American agriculture.” McConnell backed a pilot program in the 2014 farm law on the production of hemp, grown for its fiber and edible seeds. Hemp contains only tiny amounts of the compound that has psychoactive effects on humans.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee and is an Agriculture Committee member, protested that McConnell had violated Senate protocol by filing the bill, S.2667, but keeping it out of committee review.
“Hemp is a controlled substance,” said Grassley, and the Judiciary Committee has jurisdiction over drugs laws. The Iowan said he preferred legislation that would allow tightly controlled medical research into CBD oil, which is pressed from hemp seeds and sold as a health aid. The legalization of industrial hemp, he said, could result in unscrupulous “snake oil” sales of CBD oil for all manner of uses without proof of efficacy.
McConnell said he made adjustments in his bill after consulting the Justice Department and the FDA. The USDA could consult with the Justice Department as well to make sure states and tribes have strong regulatory programs for hemp, he said. “Hemp should be allowed to flourish again in this country,” with appropriate safeguards — but not Justice Department control.
Besides legalizing hemp as an agricultural commodity, the legislation names states as the primary regulators of industrial hemp, encourages research through USDA competitive grants, and allows hemp farmers to apply for crop insurance.
“After today’s important vote, Kentucky farmers are one step closer to having the opportunity to tap into the growing hemp market,” said McConnell in a statement. “By securing my hemp provision in the farm bill, we are building upon the successes of the hemp pilot programs and encouraging the great potential of this versatile crop.”