While Farm Bills are nothing new to the US Congress, the 2018 version offered a relatively simple addition that launched the CBD industry in America. What was designed as a simple extension of the nutritional and agricultural policies established in previous Farm Bills for the next five years, the addition of cannabis and mainly industrial hemp has led to the establishment of the CBD industry, which has grown exponentially since its passage.
The 2018 Farm Bill created the first significant change in federal law governing cannabis plants in decades. In 1937, the Marihuana Tax Act made all cannabis plants illegal to grow and sell. Although it was not until 1970 with the Controlled Substances Act that formally made all cannabis plants, which includes industrial hemp illegal at the federal level.
However, under the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), hemp or industrial hemp as it is often called was legal to cultivate under very restrictive conditions. The limited use of industrial hemp under the law meant that for many years little to no effort was made to use the cannabidiol or CBD that is part of the hemp for any real purpose. That all changed with the 2018 Farm Bill.
