Show Me the Hemp!

Another day; another victory for hemp and hemp-derived CBD. This time: The Show Me State. In one of his final acts in office – his resignation is effective at 5:30 PM today – Missouri Governor Eric Greitens signed HB 2034, into law. Sponsored by hemp heroes Rep. Paul Curtman and Sen. Brian Munzlinger, the bill will establish Missouri as the latest state to legalize hemp and develop a Farm Bill-authorized hemp program. When the bill was originally introduced, it did not specifically exempt hemp products from regulation as a controlled substance, which could have posed a real problem for the industry. However, an effort led by US Hemp Roundtable board members – and the forward-looking leadership of Rep. Curtman and Sen. Munzlinger — ensured the insertion of the following language extending hemp’s exemption to hemp products such as hemp-derived CBD:

(c) “Industrial hemp” includes industrial hemp commodities and products and topical or ingestible animal and consumer products derived from industrial hemp with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than three-tenths of one percent on a dry weight basis;Big thanks go to the following companies that funded the effort: CV Sciences, CW Hemp, American Shaman, Bluebird Botanicals, Isodiol and Zilis. Congratulations to the outstanding Missouri firm, Penman & Winton for leading the advocacy effort. And of course, our deepest gratitude to Rep. Curtman, Sen. Munzlinger and the outgoing Governor for their leadership.