Benefits of Legalizing Hemp
After the long wait, the United States finally decided to remove hemp from its controlled substances list. The U.S. has continuously prohibited the use of hemp for decades, with very limited exceptions.
All that changed when President Donald Trump signed a federal Farm Bill in December 2018. Legalizing hemp has been quite a hectic process, with several activists working to make this move happen.
But there’s still more work to be done, especially in states that don’t currently have hemp-based programs. All that said, it’s now safe to say that the citizens of the U.S. can expect to start enjoying the benefits of hemp legalization very soon.
Ideally, it made little sense for the prohibition of a drug that has so many benefits. Not to mention the countless job opportunities it would create for the country’s population. But enough of that. Let’s not spill the beans too soon. In this CBD guide, we will share with you the top five benefits of legalizing hemp.
Let’s get to it.
1. Increase in CBD Availability, Causing Prices to Drop
Before the legalization of hemp-based products, the status of cannabidiol was very complicated. Most hemp-based products used to be quite expensive. It is also essential to note that, to date, CBD remains a controlled substance in the United States.
But at the same time, the CBD derived from hemp products will be legal. Thus, ensuring the increased availability of CBD products. Consequently, we can expect the prices of CBD products derived from hemp to decrease dramatically as the country’s legal supply surges.
2. A Decrease in the Reliance on Hemp Imports
The United States had already legalized the importation of hemp products only if certain criteria were met, with the most notable criteria being that the imported products contain zero THC.
But we can now say goodbye to all that as consumers will now be able to buy domestic hemp products instead. The days of relying on other countries to import hemp will decrease significantly. The best part of local hemp products is that they can contain little amounts of THC.
3. Increased Chances of a Full Cannabis Legalization
We can still expect the federal government to regulate legal hemp heavily. But it’s not very clear how hemp legalization should help lift the federal cannabis prohibition. One fact to point out is that legalizing hemp doesn’t automatically guarantee that all other cannabis products will be legal. But it does boost the chances of ending cannabis prohibition at the federal level significantly.
As projections should have it, after federal politicians see that the sky won’t fall with hemp legalization, they will be more open to discussing cannabis legalization. And here’s where things will start to get more interesting.
4. Increased Research Abilities
Hemp legalization also provides a green light for hemp research and development to study the drug. The federal government’s heavy restrictions on cannabis and its related products had been a significant barrier to its research for decades. You had to go through countless channels and protocols even to have hemp in your research labs for studies.
This also applies to vape pens for cannabis that have penetrated the cannabis market thanks to increased research into the cannabis industry. Today, you can find countless vape pens for cannabis on the market, having tasted a large chunk of the products throughout the years. Increased research into vape products has led to improved build quality, reliability, design, and performance.
However, the legalization of hemp shows more promise. The increase in studies and research opportunities of this wonder drug will help researchers to understand the drug better. There will no longer be legal barriers preventing these facilities from studying this substance.
5. Job Creation and A Boost for Rural Economies
We can safely say that the country’s booming hemp industry will create many jobs across the country. This will be fantastic for rural areas and other places where jobs are much harder to come by. Consequently, these rural areas will get a significant boost to their economies. Think of it as a butterfly effect, which will spread across all the areas where hemp will be grown.
Why Legalize Hemp?
We can all agree that legalizing hemp will open doors to countless other opportunities and adventures from these benefits alone. Naturally, there are many other benefits we haven’t touched on in this post. But it is a step forward altogether.
We have also seen multiple states become more open to having talks regarding cannabis legalization through hemp’s legalization, with more states having legalized it already. What the future holds for hemp and its products waits to be seen. But we know the future is promising.
This article has been published in accordance with Socialnomics’ disclosure policy.