<scp>CBD</scp> Hemp Pharming in Illinois: Working to Legitimize an Enduringly Illicit Crop

ABSTRACT Based on interviews and participant observation activities conducted in 2024, this article investigates the perspectives and experiences of Illinois farmers cultivating CBD (cannabidiol) hemp. The 2018 U.S. Farm Bill legalized hemp, defined as cannabis containing &lt; 0.3% delta‐9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the intoxicating compound found in marijuana. Hemp includes both non‐intoxicating CBD varieties used to help alleviate anxiety, pain, and related disorders, and industrial varieties grown for fiber and food. Illinois passed a bill legalizing hemp agriculture in 2018, inspiring an explosion of interest among farmers in growing CBD. The first several years of CBD agriculture in Illinois followed a “boom and bust” cycle, with many farmers struggling to process and market their hemp. Six years after legalization, CBD growers remained suspended in a difficult transitional moment. They successfully overcame many of the initial challenges associated with growing and processing CBD hemp, but they still face profound legal gray areas and uncertainties. CBD may technically be legal, but it is enduringly illicit , as it is subject to lingering stigmatization and regulatory ambiguities that pose serious challenges for farmers. These issues have been exacerbated by the legalization of recreational marijuana in Illinois. The perspectives and experiences of these Illinois CBD farmers reveal the hidden political and social work involved in “pharming” cannabis, how farmers navigate regulatory uncertainty, and how the current structure of the U.S. cannabis industry pits smallholders and subsector stakeholders against one another, furthering trends toward corporate consolidation. This case study also illustrates how small farmers in the U.S. face pressures to innovate and diversify but often struggle to benefit from agricultural policies and programs that promote the adoption of novel crops.