California Hemp Farming Approved; Farm Bill Stalls
A major victory for the hemp industry, Governor Brown signed Vote Hemp-sponsored legislation Sept. 30, and the law will go into effect Jan. 1, 2019, finally allowing California farmers to enter the rapidly growing hemp industry on a wide scale.
SB 1409, brings California’s hemp laws up to date by adding pilot program status to the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s registration program in conformance with federal requirements and striking outdated state statute provisions that conflicted with the expanded definition of hemp that includes extracts and derivatives from the non-psychoactive flowers and leaves. The bill allows California farmers to grow industrial hemp and to produce hemp seed, oil, fiber and extract.