BREAKING: Senate Ban Language Removed from Ag Appropriations

Thanks to the extraordinary support of Senator Rand Paul, a deal has been reached to remove the hemp-killing language in the Senate Appropriations bill that was authored by Rep. Andy Harris and inserted by Sen. Mitch McConnell.  This is a huge victory for hemp – although our work is not yet done.
 
There were intense negotiations over the past several days, and a lot of work was done to find common ground for a substantive compromise that would protect the hemp industry and the livelihood of hemp farmers.  A grand compromise was not secured, but we are hopeful that the framework for discussions will help inform lawmakers when the issue inevitably arises again after the August recess.
 
We are deeply grateful to Senator Paul for standing up for the hemp industry.  We stand with Rand for his leadership on this issue, and to show our appreication, we are asking all hemp supporters join us in signing this thank you petition.
 
We are also deeply grateful to Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley who have worked strenuously behind the scenes to come to a favorable agreement.
 
We are grateful to Senator McConnell as well.  Even though he has been on the other side of this issue, we would not have secured the 2018 Farm Bill without him, and we were pleased that he engaged in good faith negotiations with Senator Paul and others on this issue.
 
And finally, we are grateful to you, Hemp Supporters. Over 48,000 emails were sent to Congress in the last few weeks.  Our lobbyist constantly heard that Senators listened to their constituents in helping us get to this favorable result.  We will be relying on you over the next several weeks to keep the heat on and the volume up.  Stay tuned for our next campaign in the coming days.