There were two major cannabis policy developments from Washington, D.C. last week: language of the proposed rule for rescheduling became available (accompanied by a video from the President reaffirming his commitment to reform) and the long anticipated text of the farm bill was released.

The text of the proposed rule confirmed that the Attorney General is seeking to move marijuana from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to Schedule III. Doing so would provide tax parity for the cannabis industry by ensuring legal businesses would no longer be subject to an arcane provision of the U.S. tax code — Section 280E — that prohibits deductions associated with “drug trafficking.”

The Department of Justice asked for public comment on various topics, including:

• Facts and expert opinion on different forms, formulations, and delivery methods
• Dosage and concentration information
• Data on marijuana constituents, routes of administration, and impact of Delta-9 THC potency
• Information regarding the scope, duration, and significance of marijuana abuse
• Comments on the practical consequences of rescheduling marijuana to Schedule III under the relevant statutory frameworks 
• Comments on the economic impact of the proposed rule 
• Information on how rescheduling may impact “small entities”

The public comment period is officially open and will conclude on July 22. NCIA will be submitting comments during the rulemaking period on behalf of the hundreds of small businesses we represent in the legal cannabis industry. 

In addition to this exciting announcement, the House Agriculture Committee also released the text of the overdue 2023 farm bill (the bill’s original deadline was September 30, 2023, but was extended for one year). 

Included in the bill is language regarding hemp and hemp production. The 2018 farm bill legalized hemp by authorizing the production of hemp and removing hemp and hemp seeds from the CSA. Since then, the proliferation of hemp derived products containing various cannabinoids (CBD, Delta-8, THC-A, etc) has become commonplace. The increase of intoxicating products derived from hemp has concerned many — including those in Congress. 

During the Committee markup, an amendment was offered by Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL) that would federally ban all ingestible hemp products with any level of THC. The amendment passed via voice vote.

This is an area we at NCIA are keeping a close watch. As the association that represents the entire cannabinoid industry, we are urging Congress to eschew the failed policies of prohibition and to instead move to regulate hemp and marijuana-derived products equally.

Make sure you check out our brand new position paper “Navigating the Future of Cannabinoid Regulation: Balancing Safety, Innovation, and Consumer Access”, which delves into the complexities of cannabinoid production, differentiating between plant-extracted and synthesized cannabinoids. It also addresses the challenges posed by the current regulatory landscape and advocates for a common-sense federal framework that emphasizes safety, consistency, and quality across all cannabis-derived products.

There’s another attack on the First Amendment for you to worry about, especially if you live in Colorado. The Centennial State’s Senate approved an epically terrifying social media bill that could require social media platforms to prohibit users from saying anything deemed positive about controlled substances online, including psychedelics legal in the state, specific hemp products, and even some over-the-counter cough syrups.

The bill, officially named SB24-158, is a comprehensive measure that addresses internet age verification and content regulations, mandating that social media platforms promptly delete any user “who promotes, sells, or advertises an illicit substance.”

Originally, the bill would have also applied to cannabis, which is, of course, legal in Colorado. Adults 21 and older can possess up to one ounce of marijuana and grow up to six plants privately. Thankfully, that got scrapped, thanks to an amendment last month from the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Chris Hansen (D), who made sure it includes language noting that “a social media platform may allow a user to promote, sell, or advertise medical marijuana or retail marijuana to users who are at least twenty-one years of age” if the content that the user is posting is in line with state cannabis laws. So, while IGing your legal weed should be fine, be careful about posting anything purchased on the black market or potentially grown illicitly. The Senate, with four members excused, voted 30-1 on Wednesday to pass the revised measure during its third reading.

However, there’s still plenty to be angry over. The revised bill would continue to cover a wide range of both legal and illegal substances. Despite the amendment concerning cannabis, the bill could still pose significant threats for users who attempt to share harmless and legal content about substances as available as cough medicine. 

“The updated version would still prevent users from from promoting NyQuil or anti-anxiety medications among many others, even though it exempts marijuana,” R Street Institute Fellow Shoshana Weismann, told Marijuana Moment last month. “And if you promote those medications, you will be reported to law enforcement. That is asinine.”

Because this isn’t just a rule a private company is creating. It’s the government. 

And as amended, the bill maintains that its reach pertains to certain hemp products, such as those containing over 1.25 milligrams of THC or any with a CBD-to-THC ratio under 20:1. It also includes most other hemp-based products meant for human consumption, so basically anything except for those categorized as dietary supplements, foods, food additives, or herbs.

The state’s psychedelic advocates are concerned. It pits Colorado’s legal drug laws up against government overreach. As Marijuana Moment reports, Kevin Matthews, the director of the campaign in Denver that successfully made the city the first in the U.S. to decriminalize psilocybin, said on Facebook after Wednesday’s vote that the SB24-158 would “make it nearly impossible to even simply talk about plant and fungi medicine on any social media network without state monitoring.” Of course, this not only is worrisome for those who like to post photos of their beautiful fungi, but puts information about safe and responsible usage at risk. Once again, an attempt to regulate and restrict will end up making substances that would usually be very safe and beneficial more dangerous than if people were just let be. 

The measure’s language “severely handicaps the emergent psychedelic ecosystem at all levels to educate the public,” Matthews wrote, “and gives broad powers to a state apparatus to take legal action against individuals for expressing their opinion online.”

Under the proposed legislation, social media companies would need to revise their policies and make them publicly available by July 1, 2025. Any changes to these policies must be posted online within 14 days after they are implemented. The companies would be obligated to annually provide the state attorney general with reports confirming whether their published policies include definitions and provisions related to illicit substances, as per a legislative summary given to a Senate committee. The bill requires companies to keep “all data and metadata related to users’ identities and activities” for one year, which puts users at risk of hackers coming in and stealing such data. 

While the First Amendment is obviously a concern, informed critics warn that the bill infringes on the Fourth Amendment as well, which is meant to protect Americans from unreasonable search and seizures by the government. 

A hemp producer based in Dayton, Ohio has a new customer for its crop after the firm signed a deal with a processor in nearby Michigan to provide raw material for hemp-based bioplastics. Under its new contract with Detroit-based Heartland Industries, Ohio Hemp Company will provide hemp fiber to produce bioplastic that will eventually become auto parts manufactured by a Belgian firm.

Ohio Republican Governor Mike DeWine signed legislation to legalize hemp in the state in 2019, the year after Congress legalized the crop on the national level with the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill. TJ Richardson and Justin Helt, the owners of Ohio Hemp Company, were among the first farmers in the state to farm the crop. They planted 11,000 cannabinoid hemp plants in 2020 to take advantage of the then-booming CBD market.

After the CBD market began to retract, Richardson and Helt pivoted to growing hemp plants bred to produce grain and fiber, rather than CBD and other cannabinoids. Because of the versatility of hemp, the company still had opportunities with the crop to explore.

“My grandpa always says that hemp is the most exciting new thing in agriculture since soybeans in the 50s,” Helt told agriculture news source Farm and Dairy. “That gives you a little perspective on how often something like this comes along. We see a huge trajectory path for this crop to grow in the state.”

Richardson and Helt knew from the time they launched their operation that there are a multitude of uses for hemp. After transitioning away from CBD hemp, the partners began looking for businesses near Ohio that were using the crop in their products. Before long, Richardson and Helt discovered Detroit-based Heartland Industries, a hemp processing facility founded in 2020. In 2022, the company began a partnership to provide hemp fiber to Ravago, a Belgian bioplastics manufacturer. 

Tim Almond, chairman and co-founder of Heartland Industries, said that from the beginning, his company and the farmers it works with faced challenges as they learned to grow and work with the crop.

“It had been illegal for 80 years, a lot of the knowledge and planting equipment has been either lost or transitioned to corn, soybean and wheat,” said Almond. “Farmers didn’t know what technology would work. So we had to understand how to plant the crop all over again.”

Heartland Industries uses the hemp fiber grown by Ohio Hemp Company and other farmers in the Midwest to manufacture small hemp pellets known as nurdles. After this initial processing, the nurdles are transported to Ravago, where they are mixed with plastic nurdles to produce a bioplastic composed of 70% plastic and 30% hemp fiber. The bioplastic is then used to manufacture parts for the auto industry.

“Everybody wants to have a product that’s better for the environment, but it’s hard to do it if it compromises the cost and it compromises performance,” Almond said. “We found a happy balance with the plastic manufacturing world where we can use this ingredient at 30% in the recipe, and we could see cost savings, we can see weight reduction, we can see performance maintaining the same, but most importantly we can see the reduction in carbon footprint.”

To maximize efficiency, Heartland Industries originally began partnering with farmers in Michigan to source the hemp the company needs. But as the hemp fiber market grew, it also started working with growers in nearby states including Indiana, Illinois and Ohio.

In 2022, Ohio Hemp Company began growing and researching dual-purpose hemp that produces both fiber and grain. Last year, the company grew 100 acres of the crop. Thanks to the new contract with Heartland Industries, Helt and Richardson plan to plant 200 acres of dual-purpose hemp this year.

The hemp grower’s new agreement is a purchase contract to provide hemp fiber to Heartland Industries on a non-binding, year-over-year basis. Ohio Hemp Company is in the process of adding new infrastructure to support its expanding operations. The firm is building a new processing and storage facility, as well as researching new varieties of hemp.

Helt said that the new contract with Heartland Industries and other developments at his operation are signs of the growing demand for hemp in the region.

“It means everything to the growth of this company and to the growth of the industry in (Ohio) to have a major processor (with) a great demand,” said Helt. “All the different pieces of the puzzle are finally coming into place to create an entire industry from front end to back end, from the plant in the field all the way to the end consumer. It’s beautiful to see.”

A professional organization of physicians who support drug policy reform is calling for the regulation of intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids including delta-8 THC, arguing that the safety of products containing the compound is unknown. The recommendation was recently made by Doctors for Drug Policy Reform (D4DPR), a group of healthcare professionals formerly known as Doctors for Cannabis Regulation.

“Our stance at D4DPR is that all intoxicating cannabinoids should be subject to a regulatory framework to ensure public safety,” the group wrote in a policy paper released this month.

In the paper, D4DPR notes that the legalization of hemp with the 2018 Farm Bill “may have inadvertently legalized the chemical conversion of hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) and other phytocannabinoids (those derived directly from the plant) into intoxicating minor cannabinoids like delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol (∆8-THC, also known as delta-8).” The legislation, however, did not include provisions to regulate hemp-derived cannabinoids, leading to a thriving industry of products containing intoxicating compounds that is unregulated in many jurisdictions.

“Taking advantage of this opportunity, ∆8-THC (chemically synthesized from hemp CBD) quickly became available in various retail outlets such as gas stations, CBD shops, convenience stores, smoke shops, and online platforms,” the group notes in the paper. “Several states have now either banned or imposed regulations on its sale. However, in 22 states (as of November 2023), ∆8-THC remains legal and unregulated, with limited laboratory testing and taxation, lacking warnings about its intoxicating effects, without dosing limits, and easily accessible to minors.”

To address the issue, D4DPR called on policymakers to develop and enact a regulatory framework for all intoxicating cannabinoids, regardless of their source. The group included several recommendations for the regulations, including a provision that would only allow the sale of intoxicating compounds by licensed dispensaries. The group also called for “appropriate taxation” to fund public health initiatives and regulatory oversight of the cannabinoid market.

The group also recommended that sales of intoxicating cannabinoids be restricted to adults aged 21 and older. The recommendations call for intoxicating hemp products to be sold only in child-resistant packaging that does not appeal to minors, with clear labeling about the intoxicating effects of the product. Packages should also include the International Intoxication Cannabinoid Product Symbol (the silhouette of a cannabis leaf) to indicate their contents in graphic form.

The recommendations also call for required lab testing of intoxicating cannabinoid products for purity, potency and safety, with certificates of analysis available to consumers for inspection. The group also recommended that research into the clinical safety and toxicology of minor cannabinoids be conducted, noting that many of the compounds are new to the market 

D4DPR also recommended that regulations for intoxicating cannabinoids be aligned with those in place in states with medical marijuana or adult-use cannabis programs and that states without regulations develop them as soon as possible. The group also called for the rescheduling of cannabis at the federal level, noting that a ban on intoxicating or minor cannabinoids “will result in a continuation of the drug war, leading to negative outcomes on public health.”

“This policy stance reflects our commitment to safeguarding public health while ensuring reasonable access to cannabis- and hemp-derived products within a responsible regulatory framework,” the D4DPR concluded in its recent policy paper.

The policy paper from D4DPR joins a chorus of calls to regulate intoxicating cannabinoids. Last month, 21 state attorneys general sent a letter to congressional leaders asking them “to address the glaring vagueness created in the 2018 Farm Bill.” 

“The reality is that this law has unleashed on our states a flood of products that are nothing less than a more potent form of cannabis, often in candy form that is made attractive to youth and children — with staggering levels of potency, no regulation, no oversight, and a limited capability for our offices to rein them in,” they wrote in the letter.

Illinois lawmakers last week joined representatives of the licensed cannabis industry to call for a ban on intoxicating hemp products including delta-8 THC. Under one proposal, non-intoxicating hemp products would be regulated with rules for licensing hemp businesses and the testing and labeling of hemp products. Synthetically produced hemp products such as delta-8 THC, however, would be banned by the legislation.

The 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp agriculture and hemp products, ending the prohibition of the crop that had been in place for decades. However, the legislation failed to regulate hemp cannabinoids, leading to a proliferation of intoxicating hemp products such as delta-8. As a result, intoxicating hemp products are widely sold at unregulated outlets such as convenience stores, gas stations and smoke shops, often without any age restrictions or regulatory oversight.

State Representative Eva-Dina Delgado, the mother of a teen, said at a press conference on Thursday that young people are buying intoxicating hemp products from local and call the use of them “greening out.”

“It scares me to my core to think about young people putting that in their bodies and we just have no idea what’s in it,” she said.

Many states have been implementing legislation to regulate hemp products, with some calling for a ban on delta-8 and similar intoxicating cannabinoids. At a press conference at the Illinois Capitol in Springfield on Thursday, lawmakers, regulators and owners of licensed cannabis businesses unveiled a proposal to regulate hemp products. Under the proposal, Senate Bill 3926, hemp products such as CBD could be produced by licensed businesses complying with testing and labeling requirements. Synthetically produced cannabinoids such as delta-8 would be banned.

“The goal of this legislation is to empower consumers ensuring that they know exactly what they’re consuming and what they are,” Tiffany Chappell Ingram, the executive director of the Cannabis Business Association of Illinois, said at last week’s press conference. “We also want to protect the public health and maintain the integrity of our state’s long-fought-for legal cannabis industry, which is undermined by these unregulated products.”

Delta-8 Products Copy Popular Brands

A table at the news conference was filled with delta-8 products including candy and snacks purchased at unregulated outlets that proponents of the bill say pose a danger to young people. Many of the products were designed to imitate popular brands, including one bag of corn chips labeled “Fritos” which had small cannabis leaves on the products.

“Without regulation, we have no idea what is really in these products,” Joseph Friedman, the former CEO of the former cannabis dispensary PDI Medical, said during Thursday’s press conference. “That should be concerning to us all, especially since some of these intoxicating products are chemically modified, and widely available to young folks, teenagers and kids.”

The legislation includes provisions to penalize those who violate its hemp regulations. A first offense would be subject to a fine of $1,000, while a second offense within three years would carry a fine of $5,000. Subsequent violations of the legislation within three years would be assessed a fine of $10,000.

Ron Miller, a co-owner of his family-run licensed cannabis businesses Navada Labs and BLYSS Dispensary, said that allowing unregulated intoxicating hemp products amounts to unfair competition for the regulated marijuana industry.

“It is deeply disheartening and, frankly, a betrayal by the state to allow these shops to pop up and call themselves dispensaries,” Miller said at the news conference on Thursday, according to a report from Capitol News Illinois.

State Senator Celina Villanueva warned about the potential impact on Illinois residents if the state does not adopt regulations to govern hemp products.

“Without proper oversight, consumers are left vulnerable to a myriad of risks from unknowingly consuming products with inaccurate THC levels to encountering harmful contaminants,” Villanueva said. “The absence of regulation leaves too much to chance.” 

Illinois Hemp Companies Oppose Legislation

After last week’s press conference, those opposed to the legislation argued their case. Charles Wu, a co-founder of Chi’Tiva, a business with hemp stores in the Illinois cities of Chicago and Worth, said the proposed ban was a “money play” to eliminate competition.

“We want to operate responsibly and on a level playing field,” Wu told the Chicago Tribune. “This would put us out of business.”

State Representative La Shawn Ford has introduced alternative legislation that would allow the sale of intoxicating hemp products. However, the bill requires such products to be tested, labeled and taxed. Banning intoxicating hemp products, the lawmaker said, only creates an unregulated market for them.

“This is so strange and hypocritical,” Ford said. “Just because you ban a product doesn’t mean it’s going away. We need to tax and regulate it.”

Senate Bill 3926 was introduced on April 10 and has been referred to the Senate Assignments Committee. Ford’s bill was assigned to the House Rules Committee in October.

The government of the United Kingdom has approved changes to the rules governing industrial hemp licenses designed to make it easier for farmers to grow the crop. The new regulations will support regulated farmers who grow hemp and encourage new investment in the industry while continuing to discourage illegal drug uses of the plant, government officials said this week.

In the U.K., industrial hemp (cannabis with less than 0.2% THC) can be legally grown outdoors by licensed farmers for the production of fiber and seed. Under the current rules, initial hemp cultivation licenses are issued for three growing seasons for a fee of £580 (about $727). License renewals cost £326 (approximately $409) and are also good for three years.

Under the new rules, which are slated to go into effect for the 2025 growing season, the length of time a hemp license is valid will be extended to six years. The amended regulations also allow farmers to apply for a hemp cultivation license with a deferred start date of up to one year, giving new growers more time to prepare for the new crop.

The new rules, which were developed in collaboration with experienced hemp growers, will also allow farmers to grow hemp anywhere on a licensed farm instead of limiting production to specific parcels of land. The change will give growers more flexibility in managing their operations and allow them to implement hemp into a crop rotation plan for their farms.

A Sustainable Crop for U.K. Farmers

The number of licensed hemp growers in the U.K. has increased significantly over the past 10 years, from only six in 2013 to 136 in 2023. Farming Minister Mark Spencer said in a statement that the new rules will give British farmers more opportunities to succeed by growing hemp.

“Industrial hemp has huge potential across the UK to unlock new revenue streams, expand our bioeconomy without permanently removing land from food production, and bring wider environmental benefits,” said Spencer, according to a report from FarmingUK.

“The licensing changes recognize industrial hemp as a field-grown agricultural crop and will enable more farmers to add hemp to their crop rotations,” he added.

Industrial hemp licenses do not allow farmers to utilize hemp flowers or leaves. Growers who wish to do so can obtain cannabis cultivation licenses, which allow for the indoor production of the plant for medicinal purposes. The dual licensing scheme is designed to allow for the cultivation of cannabis and hemp for permitted purposes while preventing drug misuse and protecting public safety.

“This government will always seek to reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens placed on businesses so that they can flourish and grow,” said Chris Philp, minister for crime and policing, the Farmers Guide reported on Wednesday. “The changes outlined today will help farmers and manufacturers in the UK to fully realize the economic potential offered through the safe and legal cultivation of hemp.”

The adoption of the new rules was supported by groups including the National Farmers Union (NFU). Jamie Burrows, chair of the NFU Combinable Crops Board, said in a statement that hemp agriculture can benefit farmers and the environment.

“It is one of the most sustainable crops farmers can grow, is a really good crop for capturing carbon from the atmosphere, has little to no input requirements and also has the ability to diversify farming businesses and crop rotations, especially when other break crops like oilseed rape are becoming more difficult for British farmers to grow due to increased pest pressure,” Burrows said this week.

The U.K. government has also requested that the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs provide guidance on whether the permissible amount of THC in industrial hemp can be raised from 0.2% to 0.3%, the standard in the United States, Canada, China and the European Union. 

The government also noted that it expects the nation’s police to continue to take a zero-tolerance approach to cannabis possession. Under U.K. drug laws, possession of cannabis can be punished by a fine and jail sentence of up to five years, with harsher sentences of up to 14 years behind bars for cannabis distribution convictions.

The Iowa state Senate on Tuesday approved a bill to cap the THC potency of consumable hemp products, sending the measure to the desk of Republican Governor Kim Reynolds for consideration. The legislation, House File 2605, was passed by the Senate by a vote of 31-18 after receiving approval from the Iowa House of Representatives last month.

If signed into law by the governor, the measure would amend the Iowa Hemp Act to cap the THC potency of hemp products at 4 milligrams per serving, with a maximum limit of 10 milligrams per package. The legislation also requires warning labels on hemp product packaging and sets a minimum age of 21 to purchase hemp products containing THC. Additionally, the bill adds new restrictions and sanctions related to the manufacturing, possession and sales of consumable hemp products, including penalties for businesses that sell such products without first registering with state regulators.

Republican Senator Dan Dawson, the sponsor of House File 2605, said the bill is “desperately needed regulation.”

“There has to be some type of guardrails on here,” he said, the Des Moines Register reported on Tuesday.

The senator said that the bill is needed to maintain separation between over-the-counter hemp products and those regulated by the medicinal cannabidiol (CBD) program, which was passed by state lawmakers in 2014 to legalize the possession of low-THC CBD products for medicinal purposes.

“The Iowa Hemp Act, or the program that we’re talking about here today, needs to be at a milligram usage less than our medical cannabidiol program, otherwise the lines are blurred,” argued Dawson, according to a report from online news source We Are Iowa.

“The medical cannabidiol program actually puts an individual with a doctor to get these products, that’s the biggest distinction,” added Dawson, the Capital Dispatch reported on Tuesday. “The Iowa hemp program has none of those barriers there. So if we want to protect Iowans with these products … there has to be some type of guardrails on here, to make sure that the medical cannabidiol program is the program that we can direct Iowans to when they have one of these diagnosed conditions.”

Lawmaker Warns of Bill’s ‘Unintended Consequences’

During a House debate on the bill last month, Democratic Representative John Forbes told his colleagues that he has concerns the bill will have “unintended consequences” for people who use hemp products outside of the state’s regulated cannabidiol program, including people who are using THC or CBD to help them recover from opioid addiction. 

“I think we’re not hitting the nail on the head here, when it comes to being able to help Iowans that are seeking out this as an alternative to maybe taking other prescription medications, and increasing quality of life, helping them,” Forbes said.

Forbes also noted that many CBD products come in formulations such as capsules with 2 to 4 milligrams of THC per serving. Under House Bill 2605’s provisions, such products would only be available in packages of two to five capsules, a restriction that many manufacturers would find overly burdensome. If the bill is signed into law, many consumers may find that the hemp products they are accustomed to purchasing may no longer be available in Iowa.

“It does have a major impact on, I think, the people here in the state of Iowa that sought out ways to manage their health issues,” Forbes said, according to a report from The Gazette. “A lot of the people that go to these do purchase them because they’ve been on chronic pain medications and they’re trying to reduce that.”

“This legislation will make it much more difficult for people in the state of Iowa,” he added. “They’re going to go out and buy this stuff online … they won’t have a business they can go into.”

In the upper chamber of the state legislature, Republican Senator Tom Shipley said that when he helped draft the Iowa Hemp Act in 2019, he knew that there were “some nefarious motives behind this,” including some businesses that had plans to sell products that were not covered by the law.

“We found out some people could find an angle to get around things and do things that are not good for Iowans,” Shipley said. “And I just want to stand up in support of Senator Dawson’s bill to try and close some of these loopholes that even I could figure out were coming.”

In addition to regulating hemp products that are being used by consumers therapeutically, supporters of the legislation said it is needed to help protect those who choose to use hemp recreationally. Dawson said the bill is “desperately needed regulation on this industry, to not only protect industry but also to protect the consumers who might indulge in these products.”

Farmers in Zimbabwe are pivoting from the country’s traditional staple crops like corn to a new lucrative crop—hemp production. Leaders in the country, however, are more worried about any disruptions to food security locally than the potential economic boon hemp will likely bring to the country.

Agriculture contributes about 18% to Zimbabwe’s total gross domestic product (GDP), and maize or corn is the country’s staple crop and accounts for a substantial proportion of the lion’s share of fertilizers that are used, the Zimbabwe Food and Agriculture Organization reports. Corn crops are followed by millet and sorghum, in terms of prevalence.

The country also adopted a unique hemp program compared to other countries. In February 2023, Zimbabwe increased the THC limit for industrial hemp from 0.3% to 1%, making significant changes for the African country’s hemp industry. That changes everything, as even 1% THC is enough to allow for products with low psychoactive effects. International companies have taken note and are utilizing growth through Zimbabwean hemp.

The rapid changes in Zimbabwe’s economy is promising but it also creates a few new concerns. ZimEye reports that the country’s hemp industry is governed by the country’s Agricultural Marketing Authority (AMA), and the shift into hemp production signals a new era for Zimbabwe’s economy, which has historically been rooted in food production. 

However, this pivot towards industrial hemp cultivation raised concerns over the potential negative impacts on the nation’s food security, challenging Zimbabwe’s agricultural legacy: The 1975 UN World Book records highlighted Zimbabwe—then called Rhodesia—as having the fastest-growing crop economy.

International interest in Zimbabwean hemp is increasing. Zimbabwe has exported over 8,000 tons of hemp to countries such as Poland, Switzerland, and Germany. Plantiqua Hemp, a Poland-based company, for instance, to enhance the quality and marketability of Zimbabwean hemp.

This makes AMA agribusiness director Jonathan Mukuruba optimistic about this new sector that’s growing in strength. “The future of industrial hemp in Zimbabwe looks very promising… with a growing interest in the sector, Zimbabwe is on track to emerge as a regional leader in industrial hemp production,” Mukuruba said.

Zimbabwe’s poverty rate hit nearly 40% in 2019, which is why food security is crucial in any decision for local leaders. “Poverty” is defined in the country as people who make less than $2.15 per day.

 “The challenge lies in balancing the cultivation of crops for industrial purposes with the imperative to ensure food security,” stated Dr. Frank Magama, CEO of Kutsaga Research Station. “As we explore the potential of hemp, we must also consider our longstanding tradition of food production and the critical importance of maintaining food security.”

Kutsaga Research Station is conducting research to identify hemp varieties suitable for Zimbabwe. 

Zimbabwe’s Shifting Economy and Hemp

That’s changing quickly in the African country as nearly all forms of cannabis were illegal prior to changes made in 2018. 

In 2018, Zimbabwe became the second nation in Africa to legalize medical cannabis and cannabis production for medical and scientific purposes. Since then, Zimbabwe officials registered over sixty entities in the hemp production, trade, and research sectors since the market took off in 2018.  In 2019, Zimbabwe abolished its ban on cannabis cultivation, which set the stage for the country’s farmers to begin cultivating industrial hemp to export. That same year, the country issued the first license to a medical cannabis company to begin cultivation.

In May 2022, Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa commissioned a $27 million medical cannabis farm and processing plant to be run by Swiss Bioceuticals Limited in West Province, Zimbabwe.

The Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe said on July 26, 2022 that it would begin accepting applicants from cannabis and hemp producers, manufacturers, importers, exporters, and retail pharmacists, in a seismic shift away from tobacco.

Higher THC caps make the country’s hemp unique.

Zimbabwe Independent reported that the THC level increase makes significant changes for CBD manufacturers, who will now be able to produce the entourage effect combined with other cannabinoids. 

The amended bill, called the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Amendment Bill, 2002 is proposing the amendment of section 155 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23] (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”) to remove industrial hemp from the list of dangerous drugs.

“By the insertion of the following definition,” the bill reads, “‘Industrial hemp’ means the plant cannabis sativa L and any part of that plant, including the seed thereof and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts and salts of isomers, whether growing or not with a delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than one per centum on a dry weight basis.”

With looser restrictions on hemp farming, the plant could replace maize or corn eventually as the country’s next staple crop.

A recent property tax relief bill in Nebraska is seeking to create new income opportunities for the state, including a variety of sales tax exemptions. This includes adding sales taxes for products like candy and soda, as well as services such as pet care and grooming, but most importantly, adding a 100% tax to CBD and hemp products.

Legislative Bill 388 was recently passed by the Nebraska Legislature’s Revenue Committee on March 21 in a seven to 10 vote. The bill was initially introduced by Sen. Lou Ann Linehan in January, who is also the chair of the Revenue Committee. “Sales tax exemptions will be removed on pop and candy, on pet services, on advertising revenue over $1 billion dollars, increased taxes on games of skill to 20%, and lottery tickets,” Linehan wrote in an outline. “Taxes on cigarettes will increase from 63 cents to one dollar and on vaping by 20%. We are going to tax hemp and CBD at 100%. This will result in new revenue of $182 million dollars.”

Overall, Linehan estimated that this would allow approximately $560 million in property tax credit funds that would be granted to schools, providing $3,000 per student in foundational aid. It would also create $650 million in property tax relief. The outline also describes “essentials” such as electricity, natural gas, or propane, as things that should not be taxed. “We are in a time of great revenue growth,” the outline concluded. “We have the revenues to pay for this now and for the foreseeable future.”

These proposals have created a rift among Nebraskan legislators. Gov. Jim Pillen approved the committee’s work on approving the bill so it can proceed to the floor for debate. “I want to congratulate the members of the Revenue Committee on advancing historic and transformational property tax relief and reform out of committee on a 7-0 vote,” Pillen said in a statement. “Thank you for delivering once in a lifetime transformational property tax relief plan to all Nebraskans.”

Many others, such as Sen. Julie Slama, expressed shock regarding the CBD and hemp tax increase. “I’m 100% opposed to LB-388, which is the largest tax increase in Nebraska history,” Slama said.

John Gage, state director of Americans for Prosperity, criticized the bill. “There’s nothing innovative about raising taxes on Nebraskans. This bill does not solve our property tax problem and will result in a higher tax bill for hardworking families,” Gage said, according to KETV. “This is the kind of big government nonsense you expect in California, not Nebraska. Legislators will be held accountable if they choose to vote for the largest tax increase in state history.”

Platte Institute CEO Jim Vokal called LB-388 a bad tax policy. “In recent years, the legislature has repeatedly succeeded and shown the best path to lowering taxes is to constrain all sources of revenue and spending growth,” said Vokal. “Such constraints need to be imposed upon local governments. We believe that constraining state and local revenue and spending growth is the best path forward rather than raising new sales tax revenues to lower property tax revenues.”

Cannabis is illegal in Nebraska, although sales of hemp-derived cannabinoid products continue to thrive. In January, Legislature Bill 199 was introduced by Sen. Teresa Ibach which, if passed, would ban the sale, possession, and consumption of such products. “While a product could be advertised as delta-8 or delta-10, these products could—and most likely do—contain chemicals, compounds and other impurities that are not listed on the label,” Ibach explained.

Meanwhile, advocates with Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana (NMM) are hard at work collecting signatures to qualify their medical cannabis initiative for the 2024 ballot later this year. The group needs to collect signatures from 7% of voters in the state and 5% of voters in 38 of the state’s 98 counties (with approximately 125,000 raw signatures in total) by July 3.

As of March 15, NMM said on social media that it has collected more than 72,000 signatures from voters in nearly all Nebraska counties (with the exception of Grant, Keya Paha, McPherson, Sheridan, and Wheeler). NMM has attempted to get medical cannabis legalized since 2020. Back then, they only collected 14,212 signatures in three qualified counties, followed by 16,328 signatures in four counties in 2022. 

Recent polling conducted by the Neilan Strategy Group in February revealed that 70% of participants want to see medical cannabis legalization. “Nebraskans are clearly ready to legalize medical marijuana,” the Neilan Strategy Group stated.

NMM held its own poll in 2022 and found that 80% of participants said they approved of medical cannabis legalization. “Nebraskans are obviously ready to legalize medicinal cannabis,” said NMM campaign manager Crista Eggers, who explained how excited advocates are to be making so much progress this year. “We’re very excited about where we’re at. This time, we’re going to get it done or it is not going to happen,” Eggers said.

Regulated marijuana sales in the United States are expected to exceed $31 billion this year, according to a recent economic forecast from a firm specializing in cannabis and hemp business consulting, data, and economic research. 

The projection from Portland, Oregon-based Whitney Economics estimates that legal sales of medical marijuana and adult-use cannabis will total $31.4 in 2024. The forecasted amount is an increase of $2.6 billion from 2023, representing a growth rate of 9.14% year over year.

The projection notes that legal sales of cannabis have been suppressed since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, citing changes in consumer purchasing power, higher interest rates and delayed implementation of regulations in new markets as challenges facing the industry. Despite these factors, overall cannabis growth has remained positive. Legal cannabis sales declined in 10 states, however, an indication that new markets are needed for the industry to continue to grow.

Beau Whitney, chief economist at Whitney Economics, said that the new projection builds on a similar market analysis completed by the company last year.

“We are quite proud of our predictive analytics that resulted in last year’s forecast versus actuals being 98.3% accurate,” Whitney said in a statement about the new projection. “Although there are uncertainties in the near-term outlook, demand for legal cannabis in the U.S. will remain strong throughout the decade, with growth coming from newer markets.”

Regulatory Changes Needed For Continued Growth

The forecast projecting continued growth of regulated cannabis sales was welcomed by executives in the cannabis industry. Some noted, however, that the industry’s continued growth will depend on regulatory changes that permit cannabis businesses to operate like those in any other sector, including engaging in interstate commerce and access to banking services.

David Craig, chief marketing officer of Missouri licensed cannabis producer Illicit Gardens, said “It should be clear by now that cannabis isn’t going anywhere.”

“If the federal government is going to drag its feet on descheduling, then it’s up for the states to take the lead in removing regulatory hurdles to operators, especially multi-state ones,” Craig wrote in an email. “What most outside the industry don’t realize is the extreme burden operating without uniform standards across legal states.”

“It’s time for a coalition of states to come together and standardize the basics: packaging and labeling requirements, compliance fundamentals, marketing, and other restrictions,” he added. “Operating even in two contiguous states right now is practically the same as operating in two different countries. Resolving those disparities is an easy win for business and government alike.”

Sarah Carter, communications director at Symple Seeds, said that it is “fantastic to see the continued growth of the legal cannabis industry.” 

“This significant increase of $2.6 billion from the previous year underscores the momentum and potential within the market.” Carter wrote in an email to High Times. “However, amidst this success, it’s crucial to acknowledge the persistent challenge of limited access to banking for cannabis businesses. This obstacle not only hinders the industry’s ability to operate efficiently but also poses risks in terms of safety and transparency.”

Legislation that would allow businesses in the regulated cannabis industry to access traditional banking services has been passed in the U.S. House of Representatives more than half a dozen times in recent years. An updated version of the bill, known as the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation Act is pending before the U.S. Senate. In a statement last fall, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said that he intends “to bring the SAFER Banking Act to the Senate floor with all due speed.”

“Addressing this banking issue is paramount for unlocking the full potential of the cannabis sector,” said Carter. “With proper access to banking services, businesses can streamline operations, improve financial transparency, and foster greater investor confidence. Moreover, it would facilitate responsible business practices and compliance with regulatory requirements.”