Marijuana Business Magazine November-December 2019

related story on page 84.) The law has inspired countless new entrepreneurs to jump into the hemp business, but no one knows the exact path forward for the hemp industry, and new hurdles can appear overnight. Cultivation of the crop still is governed by a state-by-state patchwork of differing rules and fees, a holdover from the days when hemp production was allowed only under state-level pilot projects. At a minimum, the Farm Bill requires states to: • Test hemp crops for THC content, including inspections done at least annually. • Establish rules for destroying hemp that exceeds 0.3% THC. • Keep track of land approved for hemp cultivation. • Ban drug felons from participating in the hemp industry for 10 years, unless the states had no such limit in previous pilot projects. We anticipate that state differences in hemp regulations, especially THC testing protocols, will decrease over time as many states adopt federal enforcement minimums and start treating hemp growers more like traditional commodity farmers. For now, though, just as in the marijuana industry, states aren’t waiting for the federal government to act. Some states allow commercial hemp activity under pilot projects authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill. Other states adopted hemp rules but put them on hold until the U.S. Department of Agriculture acts. Three states—Idaho, Mississippi and South Dakota—have yet to adopt any hemp rules, leaving producers of the plant in those states in the black market. The map on page 158 provides a snapshot of which states fall into each of those categories. At press time, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s position was that CBD cannot be put into food, drinks or dietary supplements, only in FDA- approved pharmaceutical products. But the agency has left that position largely unenforced, leading to a proliferation of over-the-counter CBD products. In addition, some states passed laws giving in-state hemp companies express permission to flout FDA rules; others have remained silent or expressed a CBD position through administrative rulemaking, not a law. (See map above.) All this makes the 2019 Hemp & CBD Industry Factbook essential reading for serious entrepreneurs investing in the hemp industry. This excerpt offers exclusive intelligence about the U.S.hemp market culled from extensive research and conversations with business operators who know this industry best. To access the entire Factbook, visit hempindustrydaily.com/ hemp-factbook . 160 Marijuana Business Magazine | November-December 2019 $199 99 2019 | 2nd Edition ANNUAL HEMP & CBD INDUSTRY FACTBOOK Thedeinitivebenchmark analysiso Hemp& CBDmarkets in the UnitedStates Hemp & CBD Industry Factbook