Our Success Stories

Meet Courtney N. Moran, LLM

Lifetime Achievement Award Winner, Chief Legislative Strategist, and Attorney Courtney N. Moran, LL.M., shares how she got her start in hemp policy reform. From an undergraduate student reading Jack Herer's The Emperor Wears No Clothes, to interning for Keith Stroup at National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), earning a Master of Laws from Lewis & Clark Law School with an emphasis in Industrial Hemp Law before such a discipline existed, hosting Hemp History Week educational events, applying to the Oregon Department of Agriculture for a hemp farming license on behalf of an eastern Oregon farmer, and stopping a bill that would have put a moratorium on hemp licensing, securing the first hemp production in Oregon in 2015, Moran demonstrates her tenacity and determination to make hemp a viable agricultural commodity.

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Legalizing Hemp Federally

S. 2667; 2018 Farm Bill

Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) has declared that "We would not have hemp legalization without Courtney".

Courtney liaised with the offices of Senators Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) in drafting and negotiating the Hemp Farming Act of 2018 — the language included in the 2018 Farm Bill — federally legalizing hemp in the United States.

In this video, Courtney provides insights on the intent behind the Hemp Farming Act of 2018 (S. 2667), what considerations went into drafting the current definition of hemp, and the negotiations that led to the federal hemp production program framework.

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Securing Exponential Growth for Oregon's Hemp Industry

HB 4060

After forming the Oregon Industrial Hemp Farmers Association (OIHFA) a 501(c)(5) agricultural non-profit, to address growing needs for collaboration within the hemp industry in Oregon, in just 4.5 weeks in the Oregon 2016 short legislative session, Courtney successfully passed HB 4060 — a bill that expanded cultivation and production of hemp and clarified that hemp is not an adulterant. HB 4060 secured the authority for the first mandatory testing on hemp end products intended for consumption, putting Oregon on the national stage for hemp production and policy. In that year, the hemp program in Oregon grew from just 13 original licensees in 2015 to 83 grower licenses for the 2016 production season - marking the beginning of Courtney's incredible impact on the vitality of the hemp industry in Oregon.

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Expanding Supply Chain and Market Access for Oregon's Hemp Industry

SB 1015

Just one year after the passage of her first bill, Oregon HB 4060, in 2016, Courtney successfully passed SB 1015. This bill addressed the shortage of manufacturing facilities available to hemp growers and handlers by authorizing the use of licensed cannabis processors under the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC). SB 1015 also defined industrial hemp concentrates and industrial hemp extracts, and expanded market opportunities into the adult-use cannabis retail dispensaries in addition to the existing ability to sell hemp in the general market.

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Authorizing Land Grant Research, Seed Certification, and Hemp Home Grow in Oregon

HB 4089

Courtney's third bill passage victory in Oregon, HB 4089 (2018), updated the Oregon Hemp Program to the Oregon Industrial Hemp Agricultural Pilot Program bringing the program into full compliance with 2014 Farm Bill requirements for lawful hemp production and research, and secured the authority for Oregon State University (Oregon's Land Grant University) in partnership with Jay Stratton Noller, Ph.D. to begin research and develop a certified seed program. Courtney explains the importance of the timing of this bill, along with how she secured hemp home grow authority.

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Protecting the Hemp Program, Securing Commodity Commission Authority, and Reforming Hemp and Cannabis Policy in Oregon

HB 2284 and HB 3000

Courtney demonstrates the dedicated advocacy and tenacity it takes to achieve ambitious and landmark policy goals — overcoming serious threats to public health and safety, incredible opposition from law enforcement, and aggressive attempts to enact heavy-handed regulatory oversight — successfully passing two bills in 2021 to protect and reform the hemp program in Oregon.

HB 2284 established the Oregon Hemp Commodity Commission bringing together the best concepts from Oregon Commodity Commissions, the Wheat Commission, and the Beef Council authority.

HB 3000 is an omnibus cannabis and hemp bill that fully reformed the Oregon adult use cannabis and hemp programs. The bill set up authority for the Oregon State Plan for submission to USDA; created new definitions; established agency regulation over products including adult use cannabinoids (i.e. delta-9, THCA), artificially derived cannabinoids (non-intoxicating and intoxicating cannabinoids, THC isomers, delta-8, CBN, etc.); established age restrictions; created the Taskforce on Cannabis-Derived Intoxicants and Illegal Cannabis Production; and expanded general law enforcement and agency program oversight.

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Preserving Interstate Commerce; Expanding Market Access with Standards for ADCs

HB 4121

In Oregon's 2024 legislative session, Courtney secured the inclusion of key policy goals for private clients WYLD CBD and True Terpenes in HB 4121. This success resulted from Courtney's agile and perceptive navigation around opposition from law enforcement with thoughtful advocacy and collaboration with opposition groups, agency staff, and Committee leadership.

HB 4121 is an omnibus cannabis bill that re-clarified authority for the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC) to set standards for the sale of artificially derived cannabinoids (i.e. CBN) in the general market; and broadened in-state safe harbor protections for the transportation and intrastate commerce of work-in-progress, unfinished hemp and by protecting interstate commerce of lawfully produced hemp. The bill also created new authority for the adult use cannabis program providing for dynamic licensing, authority for minor decoy operations, and established a product registry overseen by OLCC for hemp products sold to consumers in Oregon.

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Legalizing Hemp Production in South Carolina

H. 3559

Courtney's expansion into states beyond Oregon first began when Palmetto Harmony hired Courtney to legalize hemp production in South Carolina. She worked behind the scenes with Janel Ralph and a local lobbyist to successfully establish the South Carolina Industrial Hemp Program in 2017.

South Carolina's H. 3559 (2017) created the South Carolina Industrial Hemp Program; established industrial hemp as an agricultural crop; clarified that industrial hemp or hemp products are not considered adulterants; removed industrial hemp from the definition of marijuana; authorized laboratory testing of industrial hemp; and established a penalty for disguising marijuana to appear to be industrial hemp.

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Legalizing Hemp Production in Wisconsin

SB 119

Bringing hemp back to her home state of Wisconsin, Courtney offered pro-bono services to Hempstead Project Heart and worked directly with Representative Dave Considine to draft Wisconsin AB 147. This language was mirrored in AB 183 sponsored by Representative Jesse Kremer and companion bill SB 119 sponsored by Senator Patrick Testin. SB 119 was signed into law on November 30, 2017, legalizing hemp cultivation in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin's SB 119 created a state “industrial hemp” pilot program administered by the Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (DATCP), defined hemp at 0.3% or less with an allowance up to 1% THC if allowed in federal law; amended the state Uniform Controlled Substances Act; established authority for industrial hemp seed certification program; required a form to accompany transfers of industrial hemp; and established penalties for violations of the program.

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Legalizing Hemp Production in Alaska

SB 6

Coordinating with Alaskan Natives, industry stakeholders, and key members of the Alaskan Legislature, Courtney worked pro-bono to draft and lobby for the successful passage of SB 6, which legalized hemp in Alaska.

Alaska's SB 6 legalized hemp, regulated the production of industrial hemp through a pilot program; removed industrial hemp from the definition of "marijuana"; further removed CBD from the definition of "hashish oil"; and clarified that industrial hemp is not an adulterant in food. SB 6 was signed into law on April 13, 2018.

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Legalizing Hemp Production in Missouri

HB 2034

Agricultural Hemp Solutions was hired by Ancient Nutrition to legalize hemp in Missouri after the successes in both Oregon and South Carolina. Overcoming prohibitionist fears and negotiating for a thoughtful, comprehensive framework that would support farmers throughout the state, Chief Legislative Strategist and Attorney Courtney N. Moran LL.M. alongside a local lobbyist saw that HB 2034 was signed into law on June 1, 2018.

Missouri's HB 2034 was a companion bill to SB 547. The bills established an industrial hemp agricultural pilot program regulated by the Department of Agriculture; required licensees to pass a federal fingerprint criminal history background check for licensing, restricting anyone with a controlled substance felony in the last 5 year from participating in the program; required development of an industrial hemp plant monitoring system; removed industrial hemp from the definition of marijuana in the Controlled Substances Act; created penalties for program violations; created the Industrial Hemp Fund; authorized development of a certified seed program; and clarified that food containing industrial hemp is not an adulterant.

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Authorizing the Use of Hemp as Animal Feed and Expanding Market Access in Montana

HB 396

On behalf of Agricultural Hemp Solution's client IND Hemp, Courtney collaborated with the Montana Department of Agriculture to legalize the use of hemp as an ingredient in animal feed within the state.

Courtney developed partnerships with and gained the support of the Montana Farm Bureau Federation; Montana Farmers Union; Montana Stockgrowers Association; and the Montana Grain Growers Association in the process.

Circumventing federal authority, Montana HB 396 (2021) updated the definition of commercial feed to include hemp or a substance derived from hemp and authorized the use of hemp as an ingredient in feed for pets, specialty pets and horses in Montana. The bill preserved the authority requiring federal approval (FDA-Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) approval) for hemp or any substance derived from hemp as an approved additive or defined ingredient in animal food or medicated feed for livestock.

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