Everything You Need to Know About Growing Hemp in the US

The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has outlined how states and tribes can submit plans that allow producers to cultivate hemp in those areas. It is legal to grow hemp, but you must have a license. Even CBD products produced by state-legal, medical, or adult cannabis programs are illegal products under federal law, both within states and across state borders. Small-scale hemp cultivation was present during the Second World War, however, after the 1940s it stopped completely. This year, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's strong support and leadership on the issue of hemp has put the cannabis plant in the spotlight.

After that, many states in the United States finally began to grow industrial hemp, albeit on a limited and experimental scale. While states and tribes will differ in how they treat farmers who become negligent, at a minimum, if a farmer negligently violates a state or tribal plan three times in a five-year period, he will not be eligible to produce hemp for the next five years. Florida has a pilot program that allows the cultivation of hemp for research at two universities: Florida A& M and UF. The Utah Department of Agriculture website offers requests for those interested in growing hemp. In addition to land information that must be sent to the appropriate state or tribe, licensed farmers must also report the area under cultivation of hemp to the Agricultural Services Agency.

Colorado is one of those states that have extremely liberal laws when it comes to hemp, as it is one of the few states that legalizes recreational hemp. Farmers, as well as citizens of the state, are doing everything possible to restore hemp's former status. HEMP production is legal in 46 states and the agricultural bill allows Idaho, Mississippi, New Hampshire and South Dakota to continue to prohibit crop production within their borders. First of all, you should know that hemp does not get you high and that the debate about the war on drugs that decimated hemp was politically motivated rather than policy-oriented. The rule also establishes a USDA plan to regulate hemp production in states or areas where hemp production has been legalized but there is no approved state plan.

To legally grow hemp, citizens of the state must go to the Hawaii State Department of Agriculture and obtain their license. Each of these programs is illegal under federal law with no exceptions and the Farm Bill does nothing to change that.

Lloyd Pintello
Lloyd Pintello

Incurable pizza nerd. Coffee lover. Wannabe web enthusiast. General music lover. Infuriatingly humble sushi evangelist.