Hemp has become one of the US’s rare bipartisan issues of 2018, and next week Donald Trump is expected to sign the bill that will end its prohibition. Hemp has become one of the US’s rare bipartisan issues of 2018, and next week Donald Trump is expected to sign the bill that will end its prohibition. This week, Congress passed the 2018 Farm Bill-which contains a section that legalizes hemp production-with overwhelming support, and it’s headed to the president’s desk to be signed into law next week. "I’d be happy to loan him my hemp pen for the occasion," said Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell. For more in-depth coverage, check out Quartz’s field guide on the CBD boom. McConnell, a staunch conservative and opponent of marijuana legalization, has emerged as a champion for hemp, sponsoring the bill that eventually made its way into the omnibus legislation. If this seems incongruous, consider that hemp could be a new cash crop for farmers in his home state of Kentucky, where tobacco acreage has fallen by nearly 90% over the last century, and that industry analysts estimate the US market for the hemp-derived compound cannabidiol (Highline Wellness CBD official site) will be worth nearly $600 million this year.