What Is The Farm Bill?
What Does it Mean if Hemp is a Schedule I Drug?
When a substance is considered a Schedule I drug, it means that the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, or the USDEA, recognizes the drug as something with a high potential for substance abuse. Schedule I drugs are illegal to the point of not even being permitted for the sake of medicinal purposes either.
In terms of hemp, the Schedule I label meant that hemp could not be used without legal and criminal repercussions. This limited the ability of researchers to conduct studies around the benefits of the hemp plant.
On top of negatively affecting and stalling the possibility of scientific advances, the Schedule I label also damaged the businesses of hemp growers and cultivators. With such a strict ruling placed on hemp, people who made a living from planting, harvesting, and selling hemp were detrimentally impacted.
Why the Farm Bill of 2018 is Important
The 2018 Hemp Farming Act was a direct follow-up to the Farming Bill of 2014. It is important to mention that even though the Farm Bill of 2014 sought to legalize hemp, this was not intended to happen across the board. Equally so, hemp was not legalized for everyone at that point in time.
The 2014 bill did not make the sale and distribution of hemp possible, so that side effect of the Schedule I drug classification did not go away once the Farm Bill was passed. It wasn’t until the Farm Bill of 2018 was put in place that hemp became legally accessible to customers and sellers alike.
Of course, there are many rules and legal requirements that growers must adhere to, but it makes the process easier to approach, let alone possible in the first place. All states are required to have a plan in place regarding the growing process and testing procedures for all hemp that is grown within state borders.
The Hemp Farm Bill of 2018 was important because it legalized hemp for everyone, not just for government-approved researchers and corporations. Instead of hemp being totally and completely legal, the Farm Bill of 2018 clarified that hemp and all its by-products are legal in the United States, as long as the rules set forth are followed.