Senate

Legislation legalizing hemp included in Senate farm bill

by Jordain Carney - 06/08/18 1:40 PM ET

Legislation that would legalize hemp as an agricultural commodity is being included in the Senate’s farm bill.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced on Friday that he had gotten his hemp legislation included in the Senate’s mammoth agricultural bill.

{mosads}”Securing the Hemp Farming Act as part of the 2018 Farm Bill has been a top priority of mine. … I look forward to continuing to work with my Senate colleagues on this and many other issues important to Kentucky agriculture as we move towards consideration of the Farm Bill,” McConnell said in a statement.

McConnell, as well as Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.), introduced their hemp legislation as a stand-alone bill in April. It now has the support of more than one-fourth of the Senate.

The bill would legalize hemp, removing it from the federal list of controlled substances and allowing it to be sold as an agricultural commodity.

It would also allow states to regulate hemp, as well as allow hemp researchers to apply for grants from the Agriculture Department and make hemp farmers eligible for crop insurance, according to McConnell’s office.

“Our bipartisan legislation strikes America’s outdated anti-hemp laws from the books so American consumers can buy products made with hemp grown in America,” Wyden added.

The Senate’s farm bill still needs to be approved by the Senate Agriculture Committee and the full chamber. The House’s separate farm bill faced a major setback last month when conservatives tanked it amid a fight over immigration.