Todd Runestad | Apr 01, 2021
The Hemp Economic Mobilization Plan (HEMP) Act of 2021 was recently introduced by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). Its goal is to address problems that have plagued hemp CBD for years and would make life easier for farmers and processors hemmed in by drug warrioring regulators. “For years, I’ve led the fight in Washington to restore one of Kentucky’s most historically vital crops by legalizing industrial hemp,” said Paul. “My legislation will help this growing industry reach its full economic potential.” The biggest of four major provisions in the HEMP Act would change the definition of hemp from 0.3% THC to an even 1%. That alone would solve problems with farmers seeking to boost CBD content and still not have the plant go “hot” or rise above 0.3%. “Even the Farm Bureau supports 1%,” said Doug Fine, a New Mexico hemp farmer and author of Hemp Bound: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the Next Agricultural Revolution (Chelsea Green Publishing, 2014). “At 0.3%, you have these people come and clip a crop to test it, and you’re sweating until you get the test results. It can’t go on.”