The Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2009 (), introduced during the

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Ron Paul of

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) on April 2, 2009, sought to clarify the differences between marijuana and industrial hemp as well as repeal federal laws that prohibit cultivation of industrial, but only for research facilities of higher education from conducting research. Industrial hemp is the non- psychoactive, low-

THC Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the principal psychoactive constituent of cannabis and one of at least 113 total cannabinoids identified on the plant. Although the chemical formula for THC (C21H30O2) describes multiple isomers, the term ''THC' ...

, oil-seed and fibers varieties of, predominantly, the

cannabis sativa ''Cannabis sativa'' is an annual herbaceous flowering plant indigenous to Eastern Asia, but now of cosmopolitan distribution due to widespread cultivation. It has been cultivated throughout recorded history, used as a source of industrial fibe ...

plant. Hemp is a sustainable resource that can be used to create thousands of different products including fuel, fabrics, paper, household products, and food and has been used for hundreds of centuries by civilizations around the world. If H.R.1866 passes American farmers will be permitted to compete in global hemp markets. On March 10, 2009, both Paul and Frank wrote a letter to their Congressional colleagues urging them to support the legislation. This bill was previously introduced in 2005 under the title of Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2005.

The bill

To amend the Controlled Substances Act to exclude industrial hemp from the definition of marijuana, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in

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assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the `Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2009'. SEC. 2. EXCLUSION OF INDUSTRIAL HEMP FROM DEFINITION OF MARIJUANA. Paragraph (16) of section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802(16)) is amended-- (1) by striking `(16)' at the beginning and inserting `(16)(A)'; and (2) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: `(B) The term `marihuana' does not include industrial hemp. As used in the preceding sentence, the term `

industrial hemp Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a botanical class of ''Cannabis sativa'' cultivars grown specifically for industrial or medicinal use. It can be used to make a wide range of products. Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest growing plants o ...

' means the plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part of such plant, whether growing or not, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration that does not exceed 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis.'. SEC. 3. INDUSTRIAL HEMP DETERMINATION TO BE MADE BY STATES. Section 201 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 811) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: `(i) Industrial Hemp Determination To Be Made by States- In any criminal action, civil action, or administrative proceeding, a State regulating the growing and processing of industrial hemp under State law shall have exclusive authority to determine whether any such plant meets the concentration limitation set forth in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (16) of section 102 and such determination shall be conclusive and binding.'

History

The

Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, , was a United States Act that placed a tax on the sale of cannabis. The H.R. 6385 act was drafted by Harry Anslinger and introduced by Rep. Robert L. Doughton of North Carolina, on April 14, 1937. The Seventy-fift ...

is the beginning of constriction for the growth of marijuana in the United States. An extremely high tax was placed on marijuana; making it nearly impossible to grow industrial hemp. However, congress expected the production of industrial hemp to continue, but the

Federal Bureau of Narcotics The Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN) was an agency of the United States Department of the Treasury, established in the Department of the Treasury by an act of June 14, 1930, consolidating the functions of the Federal Narcotics Control Board a ...

lumped industrial hemp with marijuana and its successor, the

US Drug Enforcement Administration The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic enf ...

, continued. Industrial hemp is now legal in the U.S., which advocates hope could eventually loosen laws around the popular marijuana extract CBD. President Donald Trump signed the

2018 United States farm bill The 2018 farm bill or Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 is an enacted United States farm bill that reauthorized $867 billion for many expenditures approved in the prior farm bill (the Agricultural Act of 2014). The bill was passed by the Senat ...

on December 20, 2018, which legalized hemp — a variety of cannabis that does not produce the psychoactive component of marijuana — paving the way to legitimacy for an agricultural sector that has been operating on the fringe of the law. Industrial hemp has a potential multibillion-dollar market for cannabidiol, or CBD, a non-psychoactive compound that has started to turn up in beverages, health products and pet snacks, among other products. United States companies and industries which sell products made with hemp include Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps, most of the bird seed sold in the U.S., and even the automobile companies

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and BMW, historically and currently, experimented with hemp materials in their vehicles. Hemp food manufacturers such as French Meadow Bakery, Hempzels, Living Harvest, Nature's Path and Nutiva now make their products from Canadian hemp. These industries will no longer have to import hemp from other countries to produce these products. National drug control policies opposed this legislation as it was believed that hemp plants could provide cover during cultivation for marijuana plants.

Ruling of proposed bill

This legislation, the Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2005 and the Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2007, were introduced, referred to committee, and no additional legislative action taken.

Etymology

Currently, the word "marijuana" is the accepted spelling. However, "marihuana" was the correct spelling and most commonly used form in early

Federal Government of the United States The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fe ...

documents. That is why, as stated in the

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, marijuana is spelled "marihuana;" to maintain consistency across government documents.

References

External links

H.R. 1866
{Dead link, date=March 2023 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes at

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H.R. 1866: Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2009
at GovTrack
H.R.1866 - Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2009
at OpenCongress Proposed legislation of the 111th United States Congress Cannabis law reform in the United States Hemp agriculture in the United States Drug control law in the United States 2009 in cannabis