A new report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows that the hemp industry has taken a big hit in 2022. And stakeholders blame the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for refusing to issue regulations on CBD products .
The USDA’s National Hemp Report reveals significant declines in value and cultivation for the non-intoxicating marijuana crop.
The report states that “the value for hemp production under open skies and protection in the United States was $238 million last year, down by 71 percent compared to 2021.”
The National Hemp Report Agricultural Statistics Board briefing is now available. Hemp Acreage and Production Survey is a joint project of #NASS, the @USDA_AMS and @USDA_ERS. https://t.co/MmjYdwFXqA
National Agricultural Statistics Service April 19, 2019
Last year, farmers grew industrial hemp on 28,314 acres in the open. This is almost 50 percent less than the previous year.
The production of floral hemp fell by 66 percent. Grain hemp was down 44 percent. Fiber hemp was down 34 percent. Seed hemp dropped 92 percent. And hemp clones/transplants plummeted by 94 percent.
The data are the results of a questionnaire that USDA sent to thousands of U.S. hemp farmers in January.
the first version of the Department’s hemp report, released in early 2013, set a benchmark to which the industry can be compared as it matures. The market has declined across the board in the past year, and stakeholders blame FDA’s “inaction,” on creating regulations to regulate hemp-derived cannabinoids such as CBD.
Hemp growers who produce the flower of the hemp plant have been stuck for years without a way to sell CBD in food or as a dietary supplement. They are unable to profit from the historically most profitable part of the plant.
The new report from USDA does not provide any commentary or analysis on the reasons for the sudden drop in industry.
Jonathan Miller, the general counsel of the U.S. Hemp Roundtable , said, in an email blast, that the report “makes it clear what has already been apparent in the industry for many years: the economic opportunity for U.S. Farmers continues to decline. The chief culprit is FDA’s lack of action on regulating hemp-derived extracts like CBD.”
In January, the FDA stated that after reviewing hemp and its derivatives, like CBD, for years, since they were legalized in the 2018 Farm Bill it had determined that no regulatory pathway was in place to implement rules that would allow the non-intoxicating cannabis to be sold as a food or dietary supplement. The FDA said that Congress must take action to create CBD regulations.
Rep. James Comer, R-KY, chair of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee sent a letter last week to FDA Commissioner Robert Califf, announcing a probe into the agency’s decisions and criticizing the “insufficient reason for inaction” on CBD regulations .
Miller stated that it was time to regulate CBD. He added that Congress should work on enacting recently filed bipartisan legislation by Reps. Morgan Griffith, (R-VA), and Angie Craig, (D-MN), to provide a path for the regulation hemp derivatives such as CBD as dietary supplement and food and drink additives.
Griffith and Rep. Brett Guthrie, (R-KY), sent a letter last year to Califf demanding answers about the lack of regulation for CBD.
In August, Griffith and bipartisan legislators wrote a letter to FDA commissioner. The lawmakers expressed their frustration at the “completely inadequate response” that the FDA provided to their bill requesting hemp-derived CBD be allowed and regulated as an additive in food.
The FDA announced that it would not be regulating CBD just days after released its finalized guidance which focuses on the development of cannabis-based medicines and details the process as well as unique considerations that scientists should take into account when it comes hemp and marijuana.
This is all happening in the context of FDA’s major task: Conducted a scientific review of marijuana at the request of President Joe Biden to help in assessing its federal scheduling. FDA’s recommendation will not be binding. However, officials expect that the Drug Enforcement Administration will make a recommendation for scheduling marijuana in accordance with its findings.
In January , USDA announced that it would launch a weekly newsletter in order to provide “unbiased and timely data” about the hemp industry.
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