A Hemp Wish List for the 2023 Farm Bill

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Every five years, the Farm Bill is renewed by Congress. This agricultural legislative package extends authorizations for safety net programs, farm loans, conservation programs, disaster assistance, trade, nutrition programs and agricultural research. It affects farmers, ranchers, forestry stewards and anyone who consumes agricultural products.

The 2018 Farm Bill, enacted Dec. 20, 2018, legalized industrial hemp with a tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentration of less than 0.3%. This opened the door for farmers and entrepreneurs to begin growing, processing and selling hemp and its derivates such as the popular cannabidiol (CBD). A loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill also legalized the delta-8 and -9 THC cannabinoids.

The Farm Bill is up for renewal this year; a final draft by Congress was expected by mid-September 2023. The current farm law will remain in force through 2023, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). 

The U.S. Hemp Roundtable, a leading coalition of companies and organizations committed to safe hemp and CBD products, listed CBD regulation by the Food & Drug Administration at the top of their wish list. Regulation of CBD and other hemp derivates will address health and safety concerns and boost farming opportunities, they note.

In addition, the U.S. Hemp Roundtable wants to see bolstering the USDA’s hemp program, and social justice initiatives such as the Free to Grow Act, which removes language banning any persons convicted of a drug felony from obtaining a license to grow or process hemp.

Local Stakeholders

The Shepherd Express reached out to several local cannabis industry stakeholders to find out what they want to see addressed in the 2023 Farm Bill. Of those that responded, federal uniformity for regulation and safety standards tops the list.

Rob Pero is a member of the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians and founder of Canndigenous. He hopes to see more collective data and research around cannabis. “Safety is also a main concern,” he says, and referenced the House Oversight Committee Subcommittee on Health and Financial Services hearings that took place in July that examined the inaction of the FDA on hemp products.

“The inactivity of the FDA is hurting our farmers. We need to bring this industry back because it’s been stagnant after the CBD boom (when hemp legalization in 2018 propelled a “green rush”). Farmers had to get rid of so much crop, or they were not sure how to transport it because a criminalized aspect was being applied in certain areas, and it became too risky.”

With Wisconsin’s inaction to advance marijuana legalization or process a more regulated hemp industry, Colin Plant, co-owner of Canni Hemp Company (810 S. Fifth St.), hopes to see the 2023 Farm Bill address those gaps at the federal level.

“Requiring licenses to manufacture and distribute hemp products can create a higher barrier to entry. This would likely help mitigate the number of poor-quality products and retailers that unfortunately have been putting consumers at risk for a number of years now,” Plant says. “In Wisconsin, we have a public safety issue on our hands with harmful products being sold in abundance.”

Bill Fuchs owns Ethereal Gold Dispensary (237 Harrison Ave., Waukesha) with his sons, Erik and Michael Fuchs. “Other businesses are taking advantage of state crime labs being unable to detect the total THC % vs. the presence of THC, as well as blatantly selling marijuana (like THCA Flower) and synthetics like THC-O,” Fuchs says. He’s curious to see what full legalization on a national level would look like. He’d also like to see medical and recreational taxation lowered and consistent on a national basis.

Erik lists lack of national testing standards first and foremost, along with addressing plant derived cannabinoids versus synthetics/synthetic conversion like THC-O versus cannabinoids that are naturally occurring and created through synthetic conversion like hemp-derived Delta 9-THC. Michael would like to see advancements in payment processing, and online legal compliance standards. “Some businesses aren’t even complying with age checking or state restrictions,” he observes.

Stephanie Lembke of Canna Bloom Farmacy (2770 E. Sumner St., Hartford) would like to see efforts to make sure that people working it the cannabis industry have proper documentation and licensure. “Right now, it’s the Wild West. Nobody’s regulating that, and it needs to be.”

A draft of the 2023 Farm Bill will likely be completed by press time, and it’s anyone’s guess as to which hemp priorities will be in the final version. Whatever it is, the Shepherd Express will keep you up to date.