The House of Representatives joined their colleagues in the Senate chamber by passing the 2018 Farm Bill, a sweeping piece of legislation that enjoys broad bipartisan support. In addition to ensuring critical subsidies for American agribusiness, the Bill federally legalizes industrial hemp, ending decades of undeserved stigma.

UPDATE – 12/20/2018 1:30PM PST: Breaking News: President Signs Farm Bill Into Law!

On the afternoon of December 20th, the President completed the 2018 Farm Bill’s journey into law by signing his approval. The signature caps a rare moment of bipartisan agreement, as just about everyone on both sides of the aisle agreed that this Bill makes too much sense not to move forward. “We have to take care of our farmers… and we will take care of them,” President Trump remarked as farmers and CBD aficionados across the country celebrated. The move signifies a deep commitment to American farming by enabling hemp — a cash crop that until now has been unfairly prohibited — to be grown on American soil. It’s a move that simultaneously rolls back archaic views of the hemp plant while injecting untold millions of dollars into just about every corner of America; and particularly towards our struggling agricultural communities, who can now transition to growing hemp as a sustainable way of life.

A Decisive Victory For Hemp Industry

The 2018 Farm Bill had already cleared the Senate, where it enjoyed an 87-13 margin of victory. Today’s passage through the House was similarly decisive, as the final vote count landed on 369-47 in favor of passage.

One of the reasons that the Bill was able to gain bipartisan support despite a hyper-polarized political climate is because the legislation simply makes too much sense in 2018 to be argued against. We can agree that American farmers are critical to the infrastructure of this country, and deserve generous subsidies so that they can continue to feed us and provide us with critical agricultural products.

But what’s more surprising is that the country now officially agrees that industrial hemp should be completely federally legal — a shocking 180 from the Schedule I status it will retain up until the moment the president signs this Bill into law.

As national attitudes towards cannabis and even recreational marijuana usage continue to relax, it made absolutely no sense that hemp — a non-psychoactive, industrially useful plant — would be demonized in such a draconian way. Our nation’s laws often move at a glacial pace, but we have finally reached the moment where both the financial and social arguments for legalizing hemp outweigh any of the old faux concerns.

The passage of the 2018 Farm Bill is a gigantic victory for Cannaleaf and CBD lovers across America, as it will undoubtedly result in lower prices, higher quality products, and relaxed regulation of CBD transactions. Ultimately, the bill lays the groundwork for a major expansion of Cannaleaf's product reach, including large chain partnerships and brick-and-mortar distribution as soon as early 2019. This streamlined marketplace will be beneficial for both manufacturers and buyers of CBD products for years to come.