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MrPlow writes:

Submitted via IRC for TheMightyBuzzard

takyon: The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 will remove hemp-derived products from Schedule 1 of the Controlled Substances Act, starting in 2019:

The new law, approved in overwhelming margins by Congress a week ago and signed by President Trump, is part of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 and will go into effect on January 1, 2019. What it means is that a category of cannabis called hemp, which contains less than 0.3 percent of the psychoactive ingredient known as THC, will be removed from its Schedule 1 classification under the Controlled Substance Act of 1970. With Schedule 1, all forms of marijuana are considered as deadly as heroin and more dangerous than cocaine.

[...] "The significance of this law change should not be underemphasized," stated Paul Armentano, deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. "This law marks the first change in the federal classification of the cannabis plant (since 1970) and paves the way for the first federally-sanctioned commercial hemp grows since World War II."

As noted in a previous story, there will be many bureaucratic obstacles involved with cultivating low-THC hemp legally. The bill also does not actually legalize cannabidiol (CBD), as has been reported:

One big myth that exists about the Farm Bill is that cannabidiol (CBD)—a non-intoxicating compound found in cannabis—is legalized. It is true that section 12619 of the Farm Bill removes hemp-derived products from its Schedule I status under the Controlled Substances Act, but the legislation does not legalize CBD generally. As I have noted elsewhere on this blog CBD generally remains a Schedule I substance under federal law. The Farm Bill—and an unrelated, recent action by the Department of Justice—creates exceptions to this Schedule I status in certain situations. The Farm Bill ensures that any cannabinoid—a set of chemical compounds found in the cannabis plant—that is derived from hemp will be legal, if and only if that hemp is produced in a manner consistent with the Farm Bill, associated federal regulations, association state regulations, and by a licensed grower. All other cannabinoids, produced in any other setting, remain a Schedule I substance under federal law and are thus illegal. (The one exception is pharmaceutical-grade CBD products that have been approved by FDA, which currently includes one drug: GW Pharmaceutical's Epidiolex.)

There is one additional gray area of research moving forward. Under current law, any cannabis-based research conducted in the United States must use research-grade cannabis from the nation's sole provider of the product: the Marijuana Program at the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy's National Center for Natural Products Research. That setup exists because of cannabis's Schedule I status. However, if hemp-derived CBD is no longer listed on the federal schedules, it will raise questions among medical and scientific researchers studying CBD products and their effects, as to whether they are required to get their products from Mississippi. This will likely require additional guidance from FDA (the Food and Drug Administration who oversees drug trials), DEA (the Drug Enforcement Administration who mandates that research-grade cannabis be sourced from Mississippi), and NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse who administers the contract to cultivate research-grade cannabis) to help ensure researchers do not inadvertently operate out of compliance.

Previously: First FDA Approved Cannabis-based Drug Now Available by Prescription
2018 Farm Bill Likely to Legalize Hemp Cultivation in the U.S.

Original Submission