President Trump signed into today an $867 billion farm bill that provides billions in aid to U.S. farmers while rejecting deep cuts to the federal food stamp programs sought by some House Republicans.
“We have to take care of our farmers and ranchers, and we will take care of them,” Trump said at the signing ceremony, going on to praise congressional Democrats for what he called their hard work on the bill.
The hemp provision, which was secured in the final version of the bill under the leadership of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), will allow farmers to apply to cultivate and sell the crop. The industry will be lightly regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
It’s been decades since hemp was banned in the country as part of the broader prohibition against marijuana. But even as the crop remained illegal to grow, the market for hemp-derived products ballooned. It’s just that the products have had to be imported.
Now, after months of debate on various other aspects of the legislation, the Farm Bill has finally arrived on the president’s desk—and with Trump’s signature, the long-awaited end of hemp prohibition.
