At the end of last year, on December 20, President Donald Trump signed an $867 billion 2018 Farm Bill into law.

“We have to take care of our farmers and ranchers, and we will take care of them,” declared Trump at the signing ceremony. 

Now that the Farm Bill has been signed by Trump, the cultivation and transfer of hemp – and its derived products – over state lines has been permitted. The rule applies for commercial hemp and hemp-derived products, as well as for hemp created for other purposes.

With former Attorney General Jeff Sessions – a self-confessed opponent of cannabis reform – out of the picture, the Feds have been able to lift restrictions on the possession, transport and sale of hemp products, so long as they have been produced in accordance with state law.

For CBD (cannabidiol) sellers, business opportunities just opened wide up.

Hemp and cannabis plants both contain CBD, but hemp contains minimal THC

Hemp and cannabis are different in the sense that hemp grows with no more than 0.3 percent THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the plant’s primary psychoactive chemical or “cannabinoid” as these chemicals are commonly known.

Cannabis, on the other hand, contains varying levels of THC, with the average being somewhere in the range of five and 35 percent.

Scientists claim that CBD, hemp’s primary medicinal cannabinoid,  can be used to treat a broad scope of ailments. They include but are not limited to, inflammation, pain, stress, depression, anxiety, insomnia, nausea, and skin problems.  

CBD is generating serious revenue in cannabis-friendly states. If cannabis companies capitalize on the legality of hemp cultivation as per Trump’s signing of the 2018 Farm Bill, the economic benefits could be huge.

A report published by the Hemp Business Journal estimated that that hemp-derived CBD industry will top $2.1 billion by 2020.

The hemp plant isn’t just a valuable commodity for its CBD content but also, for its plethora of industrial uses. They include the creation of clothing, automobiles, ropes, paper and more. Over the next year, demand for hemp-derived plastics and fiber is sure to inflate as a result of the Farm Bill passing.

Passing of Hemp Farm Bill will enable growers to apply for crop insurance

Hemp has long been outlawed, despite the fact it is non-psychoactive. In spite of the fact that hemp cannot get you “high” quite like the THC cannabis can, all plants in the cannabis family were outlawed back in 1970.

This was when the Drug Enforcement Administration was launched to tackle “The War on Drugs.”

Billions of dollars will now be allocated to American farmer subsidiaries under the rules of the 2018 Farm Bill. Based on the details of the bill, CBD product creators can legally purchase raw materials via state lines. 

One of the highlights of the Farm Bill for hemp cultivators is that farmers will now be able to apply for federal crop insurance. This is important because it enables CBD product developers and sellers to acquire financial assistance from credit card processing companies and banks.

This could mean magnificent things for the legal weed industry, which has so far been stifled by the lack of non-cash financial transactions caused by federal restrictions on cannabis banking.