Significant Federal Cannabis Reform Is Likely in 2019

Frantz Ward attorneys Tom Haren and Pat Haggerty attended the Marijuana Business Conference this past November. Tom was a presenter at the Marijuana Business Crash Course, and Pat attended the Hemp Forum. The biggest takeaway from the conference is that 2019 could be a banner year for cannabis in Ohio and nationwide.

Hemp reform is moving forward.

It has now been confirmed that the 2018 Farm Bill will include the federal Hemp Farming Act, which would remove industrial hemp (cannabis containing less than 0.3 percent THC) from the Controlled Substances Act.

Hemp-derived CBD has been all the rage as of late, with this segment of the industry on track to hit $591 million in 2018. Some analysts predict this could be a drop in the bucket: The Brightfield Group predicts that the CBD industry alone could hit $22 billion by that time.

Legalization of hemp at the federal level is the first step toward a nationwide market for hemp and its derivatives — after passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, it will be incumbent upon the states to develop their own hemp programs.

Broader cannabis reform is possible in 2019.

With the coming change in control of the House of Representatives, many are confident that 2019 will bring significant cannabis reforms. For one thing, the expected Democratic Chair of the House Rules Committee will no longer block cannabis-related amendments from being debated on the House floor.

While that is newsworthy in and of itself, there is also confidence that Congress may finally pass the STATES Act during this session.

The STATES Act would exempt state-compliant cannabis operators from the purview of the federal Controlled Substances Act. In addition to removing the fear of federal prosecution, this change would allow banks to service state-compliant cannabis businesses, and also permit state-compliant cannabis companies to take standard tax deductions on their federal tax returns.

President Trump has indicated that he supports this change, which has bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress.

If you have questions about the 2018 Farm Bill, the Hemp Farming Act, or the STATES Act, please do not hesitate to contact one of Frantz Ward’s Cannabis Attorneys.