A Letter From Our Team

If you haven’t been following the news lately, the Great Midwest Hemp Fest team would like to give you all an update on the current state of the hemp industry, as it related to the 2024 Farm Bill update. If you’re unaware, in 2018, the US Agriculture Committee did its quinquennial review of the US Farm Bill. This Farm Bill reclassified industrial hemp as a product that can be grown legally across the US. This removed hemp from the Controlled Substances Act allowing State And Tribal hemp production. However, this bill did not clarify usage for cannabinoid extraction. Because of this legal “loophole”, Wisconsin and other states that did not have legal cannabis, shifted to the usage of the hemp derived cannabinoids like THC-A as a consumable product. This brought on a wave of dispensaries, hemp infused beverages, etc. in the State of Wisconsin.

Last week, however, the US Agriculture Committee Chairman Rep. Glenn Thomas introduced the 2024 Farm Bill draft that listed a proposal initiated by US Rep. Mary Miller, an Illinois Republican backed by big cannabis. This proposal requested that hemp be redefined under federal law to include hemp grown for cannabinoid extraction. Unfortunately, that is not the only disappointment from this draft bill. The amendment was passed en bloc, which means that the committee chairman passed the amendment without going to a typical voting structure to hear from both sides of the argument, the US Cannabis Council and the US Hemp Roundtable. Effectively stealing the opportunity to revise the draft bill to more effectively suit the needs of hemp culture. This morning, that draft bill cleared the committee 33-21, leading it into the Senate for review.

What does this mean? Such a redefinition would confine hemp’s usage strictly to industrial applications, effectively halting the sale of hemp-derived cannabinoids in states like Wisconsin. This abrupt change would not only disrupt existing businesses but also deal a severe blow to farmers who’ve diversified their crops to include hemp for non-industrial purposes. This translates to dwindling revenue streams for farmers already grappling with the high costs of specialized machinery and maintenance tailored to hemp processing.

What does that mean for us? Unfortunately, as a festival, this means a severe cut in potential businesses that will be able to partner with the festival in a capacity of hemp sales. It threatens to undermine our commitment to supporting local businesses and could potentially narrow our festival’s economic footprint within the community. However, this means we would have to fight harder than ever before. Fight harder for deschedule not reschedule. Fight harder for the ones who were wrongly convicted, for the patients who require the use of cannabinoids to alleviate the pain and suffering they go through at the hands of their illness. This is a call to action, a rallying cry to fight harder than ever before—for our festival, for our community, and for the State of Wisconsin.

TAKE ACTION HERE: https://hempsupporter.com/bill/urgent-hemp-killing-amendment-filed-for-farm-bill-contact-your-member-of-congress-today-to-defeat-it/

With urgency,

The Great Midwest Hemp Fest team