Wyoming jumps headfirst into hemp market, allowing sales ‘without restriction’

(This story has been updated to clarify that Wyoming won’t issue licenses until the USDA approves its regulatory plan.)

Wyoming plans to launch a hemp industry in a matter of weeks after Gov. Mark Gordon signed the first state-level hemp law since passage of the 2018 U.S. Farm Bill.

Wyoming’s law calls for the state to chart its own course for the new industry, though it won’t issue hemp production licenses until the U.S. Department of Agriculture draws up regulations, likely not for several months.

Things to know about Wyoming’s new hemp law:

• Hemp products can be sold “without restriction,” opening the door for the sale of CBD in food and dietary supplements, still considered off-limits under federal law.
• The Wyoming Department of Agriculture has 30 days to submit proposed hemp rules to the USDA.
• Hemp licenses will cost $750 a year for private farmers, $500 a year for nonprofit groups and schools.
• Fees are the same for hemp production and for processing.
• THC testing will be random, with no additional expense to the licensee.
• The law bans drug felons for 10 years.

Wyoming authorized industrial hemp in 2018, but the state didn’t fund regulations, meaning the industry there hasn’t yet taken shape.