2023 Hemp Advocacy in Washington

Hello and welcome back to the RESTART blog! My name is Shayda — I’m one of the Co-Founders of RESTART, and I recently took a trip to Washington, D. C. To advocate on the federal level for hemp, and I’m about to fill you in on all the details!

This was my second time going to D.C., and it was also my second time advocating on Capitol Hill. I’ve done a lot of state advocacy here in Texas over the years on behalf of the hemp industry. We are members of the Texas Hemp Coalition, which is the leading advocacy nonprofit for the hemp industry here in Texas. And in addition to being members for the last three years, I was announced as president earlier this year, which is super exciting, and I’m honored that I get to help lead our organization and be a part of integral policy conversations like these. So with that said, last year when we attended the DC fly in, which we did in conjunction with the US Hemp Roundtable, who is a federal hemp advocacy group, we did a lot of the same things that we had done last time. But this time, and the but is big this time, I feel like there was more interest in the things we were sharing. And that is because the 2018 farm bill actually expires at the end of September, which in a perfect world, would mean the 2023 farm bill is ready to go and implemented once the 2018 farm bill expires. However, there’s been some delays, so it is 99.99% likely going to get punted to 2024.

But the people who are authoring it are very much working on it. And again, the timing of these conversations was perfect because everyone was receptive. So that was one of two main conversations we were going in and having. The farm bill is expiring, and we wanted to know, as well as influence, what was going to go into the 2023-2024 farm bill. I should also note, the farm bill is a big deal. It covers a lot. It sits under agriculture, both federally and here in the state of Texas, too, because, yes, it is first and foremost a crop, but it is a dynamic crop. So while it is the component of the farm bill, the farm bill encompasses far more things pertaining to agriculture, which is honestly why, I believe, partially, it’s getting delayed.

So regardless, the House Agriculture Committee and the Senate Agriculture Committee are the authors, and they are eager to get as much insight as they can as they write the next iteration of this important piece of legislation. So I have to brag just a little bit, y’all. We were in the room with the authors. Our Texas Hemp coalition leader executive director is a straight up badass shout out to Alyssa Nolan, who knows literally everybody, and helped get us these meetings. And so, long story short, it was just a really cool opportunity to be in the room to share our personal stories, what it’s been like building restart, what we hear and see from our other members who are cultivators and manufacturers and processors and labs and gain insight from them on what we can expect to see being included or amended in the next farm bill, and obviously, how that might impact our industry. So the other talking point was around urging Congress to put pressure on the FDA to regulate hemp. I’m not sure how much politics you know and follow, but essentially, while hemp sits under AG, remember, it’s a crop. And we are now incorporating that so called ingredient into other things, like edibles and baked goods or beverages, for example.

And it’s been pretty wild, wild west since hemp was legalized, thanks to that 2018 farm bill. So the whole industry basically is looking to the FDA, to the federal government for guidance, and they keep kicking the can. When we were scheduling meetings, we scheduled meetings with both senators and representatives of the House. Those people are who inevitably vote on legislation. So it is a bit of a dog and pony show where you are going around, and in reality, you’re not likely getting actual time with the senator or the rep. It’s a pretty political back and forth. They’re busy. And depending on how much of a priority your issue is to them, it can vary in how much time you’re getting with them or their team.

But again, this is pretty typical for politics. So while we met with Ted Cruz’s office, for example, as he is a Texas senator, Ted Cruz was not in the actual meeting. So we meet with their staffers. We share our stories, our experiences, our concerns. We have anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes, and we bring certain pieces of legislation to their awareness so that they consider the impact voting yes or no on something would have on their state and therefore their constituents like us. It was a whirlwind trip. We had about five meetings on day one and two meetings on day two. We did a ton of walking around because it is, in fact, one large hill.

And then, thanks to an intern, shout out to Ivan, I got to take the super secret Stafford trolley subway system under the Capitol to go between the Senate and the House. So that was a fun little detour to experience. And we got to tour the Capitol with him as well. But overall, we’re in a great position. I am positive. I am grateful that the people who are authoring the farm bill are doing their due diligence, and that people like me, on behalf of the Texas Hemp coalition, get to be representatives to help weigh in on the future of hemp. So I’m curious, have you ever advocated in DC before? What about locally in your state? And if you’re interested to get more involved in hemp policy, reach out. Let us know in the comments below.

Stay tuned for new updates as we track the farm bill expiring and the writing of the 2023-2024 farm bill. Thanks for tuning in to another blog with RESTART — We’ll see you on the next one!