The 2014 Farm Bill legitimized industrial hemp for cultivators registered under a state’s hemp research pilot program. After an 82 year ban, the United States Hemp Farming Act of 2018 was incorporated in the 2018 U.S. Farm Bill that was signed in to law by President Trump on December 20, 2018.  The Bill legalized industrial hemp as an ordinary agricultural commodity, like cotton, allowing it to be grown in all 50 states. 

 

For decades, governments around the world have realized that this valuable crop is not a threat and have encouraged widespread planting of industrial hemp. China leads the globe in hemp textiles and Europe is pioneering industrial hemp applications. The industry is quickly evolving on a global level and the U.S. needs to catch up.