Federal Legalization of Industrial Hemp and CBD

Prior to 2018, industrial hemp and industrial hemp-derived compounds, such as CBD, were considered “marihuana” under federal law. Until that time, marihuana compounds were identified as Schedule 1 substances under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, 21 U.S.C. §§ 801–971 (Ch. 13 Drug Abuse Prevention and Control) (CSA).

The Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill), which became U.S. law in December 2018, expressly removed “hemp” from the definition of “marihuana” under the  CSA, thereby legalizing industrial hemp and industrial hemp-derived compounds. Under the 2018 Farm Bill, hemp was defined as “the plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part of that plant, including the seeds thereof and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers, whether growing or not, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than 0.3% on a dry weight basis.”

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