The US Department of Agriculture in November published interim final rules for the cultivation and production of hemp products a year after the US legalized non-psychoactive cannabinoids. States and indigenous tribes may now submit plans for local production for approval or rejection within 60 days, suggesting quick adoption nationally.
The rules are effective through November 2021. Comments are accepted through Dec. 30 at www.regulations.gov.
Key provisions:
• Permit interstate transport of hemp “derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomer, and acids whether growing or not” but prohibit export.
• Permit the imports of compliant seeds from Canada and other countries if properly certified and pest-free.
• Require producers to report hemp acreage using geospatial locations.
• Mandate testing at DEA registered laboratories. Plants with THC concentrations exceeding 0.3% must be destroyed.
• Require criminal history reports for key participants. Felons with convictions in the past 10 years are prohibited from participating (with certain exceptions).
“Clarifications around transportation and shipment of hemp across state lines will reduce existing anxiety and complexity for our farmers,” writes Bodhi Urban, founder and c.e.o. of HGH Seed, a Colorado-based hemp seed supplier. Urban said that he is “happy to see that the USDA is leaving the seed industry open, although this will require that farmers be even more discerning when choosing genetics partners.”
Provisions are viewed as a “welcome and expansive reading of the 2018 Farm Bill’s text,” according to J. Stephen Smith, a lawyer at Graydon Head & Ritchey, LLP.- Dan Bolton