Hemp was supposed to boost farmers. It’s turned out to be a flop.

Farmers and manufacturers who wanted to capitalize on the frenzy around CBD, which comes from hemp, were lured into the industry after Congress passed the 2018 farm bill. It legalized cultivation of the crop, a low-potency sibling of marijuana. Hemp acreage in the U.S. more than tripled from 2018 to 2019. McConnell was a driving force behind legalization. “It was a mad rush,” said Colorado Agriculture Commissioner Kate Greenberg. But the boom has quickly turned into a bust. In recent months, several CBD businesses declared bankruptcy — including GenCanna, a hemp processing facility in Winchester, Ky., that McConnell visited in April of last year. “I hope that hemp will be for us some day what tobacco was at its peak,” McConnell told the crowd. But his hope has so far failed to materialize as the industry struggles on several fronts: The gold rush mentality led to an oversupply, tanking wholesale prices. CBD remains unregulated by the FDA. Consumers are left with conflicting messages about the legality of hemp products while unscrupulous businesses tout CBD as a potential treatment for every illness under the sun, including the coronavirus. The 2018 farm bill legalized both hemp crops and extracts of hemp, seemingly opening up a federally legal market for CBD products. There was a “clear expectation” after the farm bill passed that hemp-derived CBD was a new, legal commodity, said Jonathan Miller, general counsel for U.S. Hemp Roundtable. But soon after the bill passed, the FDA made clear that CBD products violated the federal Food Drug & Cosmetic Act — essentially rendering them illegal. The agency hasn’t offered any regulatory clarity for CBD products that are now widely available everywhere from gas stations to grocery stores. In December, McConnell touted hemp provisions in the 2020 appropriations package, including a measure encouraging the FDA to issue formal guidance. So far, all that's materialized from the provision is a March report from the FDA to Congress stating that the agency is "actively evaluating" CBD regulations...MORE