The US Department of Agriculture is increasingly revoking the hemp licenses of farmers who grow cannabis in states where it is legal.
Farmers who grow both cannabis and hemp are reporting that the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has taken the aggressive approach of revoking hemp licenses. This move comes as more than half of Americans now live in states that legalized cannabis despite the federal prohibition. Farmers who receive their licenses from state-run hemp programs, which the USDA also approves, have seen their licenses renewed with no issue. The new USDA enforcement is impacting both medical and recreational growers.
According to Politico:
“While the 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp production, marijuana remains a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law,” said USDA spokesperson Allan Rodriguez in a statement. “This presents a unique jurisdictional and regulatory landscape that producers of more traditional agricultural commodities do not have to navigate.”
The overall impact on Maryland remains unclear, but it will surely cause some complications for the state’s nascent recreational market. Maryland voters overwhelmingly passed a referendum legalizing recreational cannabis during the 2022 general election, and the General Assembly passed legislation creating the recreational market during the 2023 legislative session. Ultimately, pressure on the federal government to lift the prohibition will continue to grow. As voters and states are showing more acceptance of cannabis, the federal prohibition is hampering the growth of small businesses, agriculture, and local economies.
