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Hi All!
Greetings! I’ve pasted below an important update on the Federal cannabis seed ban, scheduled to take effect in mid-November this year. In her message, Beth Mathieu from North Atlantic Seed Company mentions a white paper on the topic. I have pasted a copy of the ASIGA white paper at the end of this blog, as it has now been released by ASIGA. (I was on the drafting team. There will be a longer, more technical paper on the topic released soon.)
The direct link to Beth's TV interview is: https://www.wabi.tv/2026/05/13/fairfield-hemp-seed-company-says-federal-bill-could-threaten-closure/?utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=campaign&utm_campaign=Keep%20Seeds%20Legal%20Update%20-%20May%202026&_kx=B2IbX4cV56rvzWfOeWbtfqjxUp5k5VWx3SftZgFUV38.SPAjuW
The direct link to the GoFundMe campaign is: https://www.gofundme.com/f/protect-us-innovation-genetics-and-leadership
What can you do to support this effort? Please help publicize the issue, at the very least. Contact your US Senators and US Reps. Contribute to the GoFundMe campaign.
Please help spread the word that cannabis seeds will become Schedule I Controlled Substances soon, unless the law is changed!
Thanks,
Jim
(PS - Our sale on Class Clown seeds runs thru the end of May!)
Keep Seeds Legal
Support Seeds. Protect Our Future. Act Now.
Happy Spring, Everyone!
I sincerely hope that you have all been keeping your chins up amidst the uncertainty that surrounds us right now, enjoying a beautiful spring (damn if that sun doesn’t feel so good), and gearing up for another growing season ahead.
For the last several months, we've been quieter with you than usual, and we feel that it’s due time for an explanation.
Behind the scenes, we've been working on something we believe will shape the future of the American seed industry: the launch of the American Seed Innovation & Growth Alliance (ASIGA) – www.asiga.org.
ASIGA is a coalition we’ve built to challenge the legislative changes scheduled to take effect in November 2026. We deliberately chose not to ring alarm bells in your inbox until we had something real to show you. Now we do.
What this fight is — and what it isn't:
We want to be clear up front about how ASIGA is positioned, because framing matters so much in Washington.
ASIGA's political case rests on three pillars: Innovation, genetic diversity, and American leadership in plant science and breeding. The legislation moving toward November 2026 threatens all three. It risks narrowing the genetic pool that U.S. breeders can legally work with, slowing the pace of innovation that has put American breeders and banks at the front of a global industry, and ceding ground to overseas competitors who will happily fill the gap.
This coalition is a big tent, fighting for an agenda that affects every arm of the US hemp industry: Industrial hemp, seed banks, plant scientists, breeders, and home-growers alike. The case we are making on the Hill is about protecting an American industry, American jobs, and American scientific leadership. That's the case that wins votes, and that's the case ASIGA is built around. We feel optimistic that we have a winning and compelling position if we maintain a narrow focus: Preserving access to seeds, a non-intoxicating agricultural input that is at the heart of a multibillion dollar industry.
What we've been doing:
For months, we've been meeting at the highest levels in Washington — quietly, persistently, and with a team built specifically for this fight. ASIGA's lobbying and communications group brings together experienced hemp policy advocates, former USDA officials, and seasoned operators who know how the Hill actually works. Alongside a number of other independent businesses, and industry organizations, we're funding this effort monthly — structured for the long haul, not a one-off campaign. We need a voice in DC representing seeds, an often-overlooked, but foundational part of the industry.
The work is unglamorous: briefings, redrafts, relationship-building, education, and the slow grind of getting the right facts in front of the right people. It's also the only thing that moves the needle on legislation of this scale.
What's at Stake:
If the November 12 law takes effect this fall, it will restrict access to essential genetic material, undermine breeding innovation and new cultivar development, damage legitimate operators, and push activity underground to the black market.
Criminalizing hemp seeds will reduce consumer and patient safety, destroy small businesses and jobs across the supply chain, inhibit access to the medicine that works for you, stifle critical research and development, and hand global leadership in hemp and cannabis genetics to Europe, Latin America, and emerging Asian markets.
The United States has the science, the agricultural infrastructure, and the entrepreneurial base to lead this industry for the next decade if our leaders cultivate a safe environment to do so. This law would foreclose that future before it begins.
Where you come in:
We held back from asking until we had earned it. We now have an active coalition, a strong team, and meetings happening that simply wouldn't have happened six months ago. To carry this through to November 2026, we need our customer base with us.
This community has shown incredible generosity already in donating to the Keep Seeds Legal campaign that we’ve run on the NASC website over the past two months. We’ve raised over $14,000 dollars for this cause already thanks to each and every one of you who donated. We plan to continue this campaign until this fight is resolved.
There are two other things you can do right now:
1. Contribute to the GoFundMe. Every dollar goes directly into ASIGA's lobbying, legal, and communications work. We chose the GoFundMe infrastructure specifically so that donors receive ongoing, transparent updates on where the money is going and what it's accomplishing. In addition, 100% of funds donated at checkout to NASC’s Keep Seeds Legal campaign will go directly to this fight as well.
→ https://www.gofundme.com/f/protect-us-innovation-genetics-and-leadership
2. Watch for the white paper. We're finalizing a detailed white paper that lays out the specific legislative threats, the policy alternatives ASIGA is advancing, and what each scenario means for the American seed industry.
One last thing…
We're sorry we haven't brought you in sooner. The honest answer is that we wanted to wait until we had something concrete; something worth standing behind. We do now — and we'd rather have you with us than reading about it after the fact.
Thank you for being part of this community and fighting the good fight alongside us. We know you all care about this issue as much as we do. We'll be in touch again soon, and far more often.
With Gratitude,
Beth + the entire North Atlantic Seed + Dirty Bird Genetics Family
DONATE HERE!
Here's a pasted copy of the ASIGA White Paper:
 
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