AGRICULTURE/DRUGS/LEGISLATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Prepare to see more hemp beer, food, supplements and clothing if President Donald Trump signs the new Farm Bill that would more broadly permit American farmers to grow hemp, which has long been restricted because of its ties to marijuana. Hemp plants are the same species as marijuana but contain virtually none of the psychoactive compounds that get people high. While hemp fibers have long been prized for their durability and use in clothing and paper, the plant is increasingly used to make food and other dietary supplements containing CBD, a cannabis derivative that boosters say has important health benefits. The $867 billion Farm Bill clarifies that hemp will be treated as an agricultural product, allowing growers to qualify for crop insurance and research grants. It also sets the stage for broader availability of hemp-based foods and supplements by removing the plant from the Controlled Substances Act. Farmers in Colorado produce about half of all the hemp grown in the United States, in part thanks to the state’s 2014 legalization of cannabis.”
–Trevor Hughes, “Hemp, a form of cannabis, to become legal with Trump’s signature on Farm Bill,” USA Today, Decembr 13, 2018 9:43 pm