Hemp, Inc. (HEMP) Act of 2018 Will Legalize Hemp and Spur New Market Opportunities

“This Hemp Farming Act sends a clear message to U.S. farmers that they should get started planting as much hemp as they can. This bill can be revolutionary. It has already started sending shockwaves through the farming and agriculture communities across the country,” says Bruce Perlowin, CEO of Hemp, Inc. (OTC PINK: HEMP). The filing of The Hemp Farming Act of 2018  follows the Omnibus Spending Bill recently signed by President Donald Trump that includes certain protections for hemp.

Stated in a press release from Senator McConnell’s office, “The Hemp Farming Act of 2018 … builds upon the success we have seen through the hemp pilot programs by allowing states to be the primary regulators of hemp (if the U.S. Department of Agriculture approves their implementation plan). This legislation will also remove the federal barriers in place that have stifled the industry, which will help expand the domestic production of hemp. It will also give hemp researchers the chance to apply for competitive federal grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture – allowing them to continue their impressive work with the support of federal research dollars.”  To read the full press release from McConnell’s office, click here. McConnell is optimistic that industrial hemp can become, sometime in the future, what tobacco was in Kentucky’s past (according to a recent Forbes article).

Previously, McConnell has helped develop new federal and state legal permissions for hemp and even steered hemp into the 2014 Farm Bill and co-sponsored the Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2015. Now, McConnell’s new bill will remove industrial hemp from the Controlled Substances Act.

New data show that U.S. hemp production soared in 2017 – signaling that the hemp industry now has more momentum than ever to become America’s newest leading industry. More acceptance for hemp and CBDs, coupled with easing regulations at the state level, are just the right stimuli to cause U.S. hemp production to surge, as we have seen just this past year.  One source noted, “From 2016 to 2017, the number of acres licensed for hemp cultivation in the top 10 hemp-growing states grew by 140% – while the number of hemp producers doubled over the same one-year period.”

There has also been a need in the market to help hemp farmers figure out optimal growing practices.  Hemp, Inc. identified that need a year ago and has since established the Hemp, Inc. University which has, to date, educated over 800 attendees.  “We have seen how the decrease in profitability of tobacco farming has compromised the family farm, leading many to abandon generations-long businesses in search of different employment in more urban settings. We are proud to be on the forefront of the industrial hemp movement and look forward to sharing that experience and expertise,” said Perlowin.

The Hemp University is one of Hemp, Inc.’s powerful tools in educating and training farmers who are growing hemp for the company this year. In fact, Hemp, Inc. is expected to grow up to 25,600 acres of industrial hemp this year thus making North Carolina the “Epicenter of the Industrial Hemp Industry”. The large amount of acreage is expected to improve farmer profitability as well as boost the overall economy by opening up new revenue streams in the marketplace for buyers and farmers seeking higher quality products.

According to the cannabis research firm Brightfield Group, the U.S. market for hemp-derived CBDs “will swell to $1.65 billion by 2021 – a nearly six-fold increase.”  Hemp, Inc.’s long-term strategy (as previously announced) is to build the world’s largest hemp oil extraction infrastructure by creating joint ventures with multiple companies to house and operate their cannabidiol (CBD) extraction equipment in its 85,000-square foot multi-purpose industrial hemp processing facility in Spring Hope, North Carolina.