Reps. David Trone (D-MD), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Dave Joyce (R-OH) and Nancy Mace (R-SC) are sponsoring the “Free to Grow Act,” which narrowly addresses that past conviction provision of the 2018 Farm Bill that federally legalized hemp.
Despite legalization, “the industry’s growth is being stunted by red tape, discriminatory policy, and regulatory uncertainty.”
“The upcoming Farm Bill gives Congress a once-in-five-years opportunity to correct the unfair policy that bans people with drug convictions from growing hemp,” she said. “I am proud to join Reps. Trone, Joyce, and Mace in that effort by introducing the Free to Grow Act, addressing this injustice and supporting a thriving hemp economy.”
The bipartisan legislation would strike language from the Farm Bill currently stipulating that anyone who’s been convicted over a felony drug offense in the past 10 years cannot lawfully serve in certain roles in a licensed hemp business—a provision that became a point of concern for advocates as Congress moved to end the cannabis prohibition and stand up a new marketplace.
