North Carolina Farmers Urge A 1% Thc Cap As Regulatory Confusion Settles On 2020 Growing Season

It’s possible that the state won’t pass its 2019 Farm Act anytime soon, forcing farmers to apply for licenses under the USDA plan. But then, if North Carolina’s agriculture department gets around to setting up its own hemp rules, farmers may still need to apply at the state level—potentially setting up a showdown between two sets of rules during one growing season. Researchers will investigate CBD for Pets potential factors related weed infestations such as planting different varieties, growing the crop at different times and weather impacts. As it stands, farmers have largely relied on trial and error for weed management, Dan Dolgin, co-owner of New York’s first licensed hemp production business, said. In October 2021, the interim rule will expire and will be replaced by a final rule.

After the regulations are finalized, USDA said it will make a determination about state or tribal plan applications within 60 days of their submission. Jurisdictions that submit applications to process hemp under USDA’s guidelines rather than their own local rules will be reviewed within 30 days of their submission. USDA requests public comment on the estimated impacts of the rule, specifically whether there is information or data that may inform whether or not the market will experience a significant shift, either positive or negative, in the developing hemp market and on consumers. In addition, USDA seeks comments and requests any data or information on what impacts the regulation may have on current and future innovation in the areas of industrial hemp usages and how much such impacts on innovation may affect rural communities. If the application is denied, the reason will be detailed and the applicant may resubmit the application or appeal the decision.

As defined in the 2018 Farm Bill, the term “hemp” means the plant speciesCannabis sativaL. As noted above, USDA is currently accepting plans from states and tribes planning to craft their own hemp production programs. For producers seeking to apply for a USDA license, USDA will begin accepting applications on November 30, 2019. While providing answers to a number of longstanding questions, the interim regulations simultaneously leave a number of questions outstanding.

USDA licensed producers are responsible for obtaining the services of sampling agents and hemp testing laboratories themselves. USDA is updating guidance on sampling procedures and training for sampling agents with this rule. USDA does not provide sampling or testing services and will not pay for those services. The IFR included requirements for State and Tribal plans to contain procedures for reporting specific information to USDA.

The provision offers a 15 day sampling and testing window before the time of harvest. The Rules monthly reporting requirements to the USDA AMS are extensive and will impose burdens on the state to implement. The state will have to develop a more sophisticated and costly database in order to fulfill these requirements. Further, because one of the monthly reports requires submission of geospatial location data, the state will have to amend the current licensing statutes that protect locations of hemp production sites as confidential information. The new reports will also require our current testing lab to change their report format and develop a process to notify the grower as well as the state of the total THC test results for each crop lot. All of these data and reporting requirements will increase the program workload and require additional state expenses.

A producer whose license has been suspended may appeal that decision in accordance with subpart D of this part. The auditor shall assess whether required reports, records, and documentation are properly maintained for accuracy and completeness. Lots that meet the acceptable hemp THC level may enter the stream of commerce.

The definitive agreement encompasses all current employees, facilities and operations of Agro Greens. Along with expanding its processing capacity, Shelter intends to increase staffing at the Macklin facility, located in Canada’s agricultural heartland. According to Hauk, “The Macklin community is an excellent place for Shelter to expand and assert our position as a leader in bringing high-quality, innovative cannabis products to Canadians.” Based in Macklin, Saskatchewan, Agro Greens holds standard cultivation and standard processing licences, as well as licences for medical and non-medical cannabis sales. The acquisition of the Saskatchewan facility and its federal licences is a significant expansion of capabilities for Shelter, a BC-based cannabis branding, packaging and product development company.

To that end, we offer compliant pre-harvest hemp potency analysis services, certificates of analysis for cannabinoid profiles and a host of safety panels for hemp cultivators, manufacturers and retailers. Please reach out to us to learn more about testing services or to order testing. On Tuesday, October 22, Maine Governor Janet Mills and Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry Commissioner Amanda Beal penned a letter to USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue, urging him to finalize rules that outline state guidance for industrial hemp implementation plans. Two opportunities to submit public comments to protect the American hemp industry throughout all stages of the supply chain.

NASDA is unclear why the separate FSA reporting requirement is necessary and is concerned it will impose an additional barrier to hemp farmers without meaningfully improving the functioning of the federal and state programs. The Rule requires that non-compliant material must be collected for destruction by a person authorized under the Controlled Substances Act to handle marijuana, such as a DEA-registered reverse distributor or duly authorized enforcement officer. This new requirement seems unnecessarily stringent and costly when the primary focus is having expert oversight and thus compliance.

The reported THC concentration of a sample may not be the actual concentration level in the sample. However, the actual THC concentration is expected to be within the distribution or range calculated delta 8 thc show on drug test when the reported THC concentration is combined with the measurement of uncertainty. Further, FSA maintains the technology necessary for data collection and geographical land identification.

Just like people, hemp doesn’t always react the same when put into different environments – it is important to trial and document how these varieties do, especially when there are multiple farms within a co-op or company. I believe enforcing these unrealistic limits will kill the CBD market because no farmer will risk it for such a small return. “When half of my crop is on the verge of testing hot, even though there is non-detectable Delta 9 THC, it hinders our ability to progress,” he said. People with Tennessee Growers Coalition said many growers are encountering the issue.

Additionally, the NTT stated that until regulations were in place, States, Tribes, and institutions of higher education can continue operating under authorities of the 2014 Farm Bill. The 2018 Farm Bill extension of the 2014 authority expires 12 months after USDA has established the plan and regulations required under the 2018 Farm Bill. A second Notice to Trade was issued on May 27, 2019 to clarify again that Tribal governments through the authorities in the 2014 Farm Bill are permitted grow industrial hemp for research purposes during the 2019 growing season.

Finally, the IFR specified audit reporting requirements and remediation steps for States and Tribal governments found to be non-compliant with USDA requirements. AMS also reviewed the test results of certified hemp varieties planted in Kentucky in 2017 and 2018 under how take cbd oil its 2014 Farm Bill program. The plants from the certified varieties tested below 0.8 percent THC concentration level. Additionally, AMS reviewed the test results of varieties that were eligible to be cultivated under the Nevada 2014 Farm Bill program in 2018.

Nowhere can I see the 0.3% and 15-day rules actually working for any geographical location. As a first-year hemp farmer and processor … I have quickly observed the THC levels around 1% when the CBD levels peak. Comments submitted by Jan. 29, 2020, will be considered before a final rule is created, according to the agency. But when it comes to FDA rules or USDA hemp regulations, any acknowledgment of reality should be considered a win. This means that if a farmer’s hemp crops test at more than 0.3% THC, they would end up losing everything that they had invested into that crop, because they would be disallowed from using it for things like compost, textiles, or biofuel. Some farmers are experiencing a modicum of relief after the United States Department of Agriculture recently announced the temporary repeal of two unpopular interim regulations regarding the cultivation of hemp.

Politico: Prominently Features The Hemp Guy

This rule also places a reporting and recordkeeping burden on laboratories as they will be required to report on the results of samples tested for THC content to the entities administering the hemp programs. The PRA section of this rule estimates an annual reporting and recordkeeping requirement for laboratories of 0.58 hours per sampled and tested lot. As calculated in Table 7, the total number of lots to be sampled and tested in each year is 5,659 in 2020; 6,886 in 2021; 7,606 in 2022; 8,069 in 2023; 8,272 in 2024; and, 8,688 in 2025. Table 7 shows the number of sampled lots, n, required for a 95 percent confidence interval and one percent margin of error for each year’s total number of lots, N.

Any sample test result exceeding the acceptable hemp THC level shall be conclusive evidence that the lot represented by the sample is not in compliance with this part. Laboratory must have an effective disposal procedure for non-compliant samples that do not meet the requirements of this part. If the applicant is producing in more than one State or territory of an Indian Tribe, the applicant may have more than one license to grow hemp.

Negligent violations are not subject to criminal enforcement action by local, Tribal, State, or Federal government authorities. Even if you live in a state without its own hemp program, hemp is legal to grow as long as farmers adhere to the regulations established by the USDA. But despite hemp’s new legal status, individual states may still choose to pass their own laws restricting its growth. Idaho and South Dakota are currently the only states to have outright banned hemp production. In both 2019 and 2020, hemp-friendly bills failed to advance through Idaho’s legislative process.

The commenter claimed their company has harvested millions of pounds of hemp compliant with the 0.3 percent total THC standard since 2017. The comment said they produced 25 million rooted cuttings this spring—enough, according to the comment, to produce biomass for the entire country, and the commenter assumed they were not the only ones who had done so. The comment asserted further that the global standard for THC concentration is 0.2 percent and that to be competitive, U.S. production must adhere to a similarly strict standard. AMS accepted comments during an initial comment period from October 31, 2019 through December 31, 2019. On December 18, 2019 , this initial comment period was extended for an additional 30 days, ending January 29, 2020. Reopening the comment period gave interested persons an additional opportunity to comment on the IFR.

Proposed Hemp Regulations Would Be A Nightmare For Farmers

Commenters credited these types of practices and activities with allowing states to efficiently oversee hemp production under pilot programs. Other comments described how financial institutions routinely incorporate risk-based modeling into the risk assessment of lending decisions, and that similar modeling should be adopted by USDA for sampling and testing. Given the reality of time and labor commitments for harvesting, the 15-day sampling requirement specified under USDA’s IFR is unrealistic for hemp producers. The IFR requires that samples for testing of hemp for THC concentration levels be collected within fifteen days of the anticipated date of harvest. The regulations go on to specify that state hemp programs must prohibit industrial hemp farmers from harvesting their crop until the samples have been taken.

Cbd On The Rise

Interim final hemp rules seeks to provide guidelines on hemp cultivation under federal laws. That has not only elicited interest from farmers only but also cannabis investment companies. Under the new Rules, the state will be required to sample every field and every area that has a different variety/strain growing, which will substantially increase the number of samples required to be collected.

These tools will provide easy access to information needed for law enforcement and for other agricultural programs. States and Tribes must provide information to USDA in a format that is compatible with USDA’s information sharing system. USDA will work with States and Tribes on system format and other information necessary to share information.

Finally, comments questioned whether USDA has the authority to impose new testing requirements when the statute spells out the testing standards to be applied in granting approval to State and Tribal plans. AMS acknowledges that some States do not currently test for total THC and that switching to testing for total THC may have a negative impact on those State programs. Most laboratories that use LC obtain THCA results and delta-9 THC results in the same analysis, so the information should be readily available to incorporate a calculation for Total THC. The opposite is also true. If USDA was to ignore the statutory requirement of using post-decarboxylation or other similarly reliable methods and allow for THC levels that do not account for decarboxylation, States and Tribes that currently require testing for total THC could experience a negative impact.

Moreover, USDA’s decision is practicable and prevents piecemeal licensing by Tribes and USDA within a single Tribal Territory. The information required to be collected includes a legal description of the land and geospatial location for each field, greenhouse, or other site where hemp is produced. Geospatial location is necessary because many rural locations do not have specific addresses, and these coordinates will assist with the proper identification of hemp production locations. Should there be sufficient public interest in exporting hemp in the future, USDA will work with industry and other Federal agencies to help facilitate this process.

Several people even questioned the 0.3 percent THC level as the ceiling for legal hemp. The United States Department of Agriculture held a webinar on Wednesday during which stakeholders offered suggestions for hemp regulations, which was recently legalized through the 2018 Farm Bill. Overall, NMR has the potential to offer a streamlined, cost-effective cannabis testing method with applications for evaluating the quality of cannabis products and chemically profiling individual strains to help consumers find a product that’s right for them. But what if testing labs could condense their current catalog of analytical testing techniques? Here we’ll explore the potential of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance to offer a more accurate, inexpensive, and broadly applicable testing method for the cannabis industry. The cannabis industry is on a path for growth, and as the industry grows, so will its footprint.

The comments suggested that hemp sampling is a more complex logistical problem than contemplated in the IFR because of the geography and scope of sampling on farms. The comments encouraged USDA to calculate anticipated sampling costs to include a minimum number of hours for each step in the sampling process, and to consider factors such as travel time and coordination of supplies and personnel for the sampling effort. The comment cautioned that the net social benefit calculated in the IFR was over inflated because it represents a point in time during the industry’s infancy. The comment argued that the industry faces a market depression and recommended a quota system for licensing classified by intended use.

Following these non-cash charges, Aurora expects to remain compliant with its revised total debt-to-equity covenant going forward. So in addition to being eligible for programs like crop insurance, the hemp industry benefits from the full suite of services that the Department of Agriculture provides to many industries. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsak recently referenced hemp as he spoke about $1 billion in grants to support climate-friendly farming. Hemp farmers where can i buy cbd oil for dogs in store have been anticipating the regulations for months, as USDA officials have repeatedly pledged to issue them ahead of the 2020 planting season. Just last week, Reps. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) and Jared Golden (D-ME) sent a letter to USDA urging the department to “expeditiously finalize the hemp rules,” per the obligations of the farm bill. USDA has been working to develop hemp regulations since the crop was federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill in December.

The program was mandated in the 2018 Farm Bill but was just released last week. Without this guidance a patchwork of differing state laws has governed the hemp industry, causing great confusion and legal woes. Last week, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced the long-awaited establishment of the U.S.

The 2018 Farm Bill removed hemp from the definition of marijuana under the CSA, thereby removing DEA involvement over the regulation of hemp as well. The 2018 Farm Bill did not anticipate DEA having a role in the testing process and specifically DEA-registered laboratories were not envisioned by Congress. On February 27, 2020, USDA, in conjunction with DEA, published a guidance, that hit the industry by storm. Groups and companies immediately voiced concerns, and new legislation was filed in Congress.

“To date, the FDA has only gone after people making aggressive claims — cancer treatment claims, AIDS treatment claims and the like,” said attorney Jonathan Havens, former FDA regulatory counsel and current co-chair of the cannabis law practice at Saul Ewing wie lange bis cbd öl wirkt Arnstein & Lehr. Wisconsin Public Radio and WPR.org welcome civil, on-topic comments and opinions that advance the discussion from all perspectives of an issue. Comments containing outside links will only be posted after they’ve been approved by a moderator.

Furthermore, AMS understands and appreciates the commenter’s argument that net social benefit and societal willingness to pay are over inflated in the IFR. Due to the relative scarcity of industry data, AMS made many assumptions in its analysis in the IFR, some of which were not realized. In order to caution industry stakeholders of the volatility of the hemp which cbd oil is best for sleep market, however, AMS used variable cost estimates to calculate net returns to producers, which ranged from a loss of nearly $17,000 to a gain of $6,240. In the single year since publication of the IFR, a greater amount of data has become available to AMS, which allows the analysis in the final rule to rely less on assumptions that may not be actualized.

But it was quickly apparent to everyone, from consumers and regulators to lawmakers and producers, that the regulatory standards implemented in a similar industry wouldn’t suffice. Hemp’s status as a close “cousin” to high-THC cannabis, or “marijuana,” demands tactful, clear, even potentially controversial regulation to make headway as a legal commodity. An atmosphere of growing confusion and subsequent insistence on guidance led to the hastily implemented U.S. Department of Agriculture interim rules intended to shepherd hemp farmers while regulators study the issue for a release of permanent rules in two years. Only 22 of the 45-plus states with state-level hemp regulations comply with the new industrial hemp testing standards.

Sean Beeman, co-founder of Genesis Pharms, is concerned that with testing issues, the booming industry that is Oregon hemp will come to a halt by harvest time. Beeman is most concerned about the increase in growers with little to no experience. After reviewing and evaluating the comments, USDA will draft and publish a final rule within two years of the date of publication, or by November 1, 2021. If the Licensed Producer plans to sell viable plants or viable plant parts, a Delaware Nursery License is required. The passage of SB 266 also gave the Delaware Department of Agriculture the ability to adopt any policies and regulations necessary to permit the cultivation of hemp when federal law permitted the cultivation of hemp beyond agricultural or academic research.

As a result, we estimate the number of licensees to increase from roughly 7,584 in 2020 to 8,818 in 2021, to 10,054 in 2022 and beyond. Similarly, we assume that all producers will be subject to some form of licensing. In the upper bound estimate, we attribute all licensing costs to this rule even though we know that most, if not all, States already have some form of licensing as part of their 2014 programs. So, if we only account for the licensing costs of producers enabled under this rule, the upper bound estimate is $77,000 to $35,000 in 2021.

Because hemp is now labeled as an agricultural commodity, the USDA is in charge of regulating it instead of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have not issued updated policies and regulations hemp industry professionals need. These regulations would determine testing and production specifications the industry abides by.

If it appears that the data and experience of those States and Tribe suggest that their methodologies may be adaptable to the USDA plan, AMS may explore a sampling scheme based on end use for producers under the USDA plan in the future through notice and comment rulemaking. Liquid chromatography testing typically does not involve the use of heat, so the THCA in a sample does not decarboxylate. In LC, results for THCA and delta-9 THC are obtained separately and can be reported separately. Cannabis naturally contains more THCA than delta-9 THC; if the THCA concentration is ignored while testing by LC, it is improbable to correctly distinguish hemp varietals from drug varietals.

While initiatives like cooperatives have been effective to support black farms, they only help maintain the status quo. The segregated branch of the Alliance established was called the Colored Farmers National Alliance and Cooperative Union .This branch was run by a white Baptist minister named R.M. These laws were representative of Jefferson’s hypocritical view of black people and agriculture and how those ideas collide. The Black Codes passed by southern states sought to retain a prominent agriculture industry based on slavery and white supremacy. President Johnson served as a significant barrier to the Freedmen’s Bureau’s success.

Vicente Sederberg Llp Hemp Update: June 2020

These offices currently serve the agricultural industry within their communities, where producers can establish farm and producer records, record their licensing information, and report crop acreage. The producer may also, with supporting documentation, update their FSA farm records for leases, sub-leases, or land ownership. Requiring farmers to visit the FSA office ensures that they receive information on the availability of these helpful tools and programs. This is particularly important for new farmers, who may not be aware of the wide range of programs and services offered by USDA.

Applicants may submit an application for a new license to USDA between December 2, 2019 and November 2, 2020. In subsequent years, applicants may submit an application for a new license or renewal of an existing license to USDA from August 1 through October 31 of each year. In addition to the approval letter, the State or Tribe shall receive their plan approval certificate either as an attachment or assessable via website link.

With a decline in the demand for hemp, Richard said it resulted in fewer people applying for a license to grow, a key revenue source for the hemp program. You must be a licensed seed dealer if you are going to be selling seed for planting. For the Ag Connect farmers’ five-year impact projections, new government mandates and regulations top the list again, with 33 percent ranking it as the most impactful. Nearly 24 percent of respondents rank availability and price of land for expansion as the second most impactful.

The actual THC concentration level is within the distribution or range when the reported THC concentration level is combined with the measurement of uncertainty. If a State or Indian Tribes wants to have primary regulatory authority over the production of hemp in that State or territory of that Indian Tribe they may submit, for the approval of the Secretary, a plan concerning the monitoring and regulation of such hemp production. State or Tribal plans must be submitted to USDA and approved prior to their implementation. Nothing preempts or limits any law of a State or Tribe that regulates the production of hemp and is more stringent than the provisions in the 2018 Farm Bill. State and Tribal plans developed to regulate the production of hemp must include certain requirements when submitted for USDA approval. With approximately half a million acres of hemp and more than 20,000 growers in the United States, THC remediation will continue to be an important step in the production of hemp-based products.

Blvck Farmers Role In The Hemp Industry

If consumers can come to the dispensary informed about the large carbon footprint of certain indoor growing practices, they’ll be more likely to seek out environmentally friendly products. Some players in the industry are now hoping to completely skip the analytical techniques and remove THC at the source. Based in Lafayette, Colorado, the agricultural biotech company Front Range Biosciences is using selective breeding to develop hemp strains that produce zero THC.

As a result, black hemp farmers are in a more precarious position than their white counterparts because in a high risk, high reward industry they are forced to conform to rules not meant for them with a limited amount of information. State agencies and local committees being the gatekeepers to this information is not inherently negative. Ideally, local markets and standards would be regulated by those within that market. The theory and reality of this system are not well aligned because of a lack of black representation on the regulatory entities. To even begin farming hemp, one must get licensed which necessitates that the farmer receives general information about the state’s hemp program.

AMS believes allowing the additional time will provide flexibility for dealing with unforeseen weather events and other agricultural factors, and better accommodate complicated harvest processes. AMS also believes this will reduce strain on testing resources and ensure test results can be returned to growers on a timely basis. An institute that commented discussed research which found that sampling from the whole plant more accurately reflected what was observed in a field. The comment explained how the current USDA method, which analyzes only the top 1/3 of the plant, generates data that is error-prone and results that likely do not represent the actual THC levels that are present in the hemp plants in the field as a whole. It said, for example, in one research field, THC levels ranged from 0.06 percent to 2.46 percent in the top 1/3 plant samples when individual plants were evaluated separately.

Samples exceeding the acceptable hemp THC level are marijuana and will be handled in accordance with the procedures discussed in section C below. All State and Tribal plans submitted for USDA approval must also have a certification stating the State or Indian Tribe has the resources and personnel necessary to carry out the practices and procedures described in their plan. Section 297B of the AMA requires this certification, and the information is important to USDA’s approval of State and Tribal plans, in that all such plans must be supported by adequate resources to effectively administer them. AMS recognizes that in some cases producers may travel to FSA offices miles away incurring additional time and cost. According to McCall, New York has already done that, leaving the state’s hemp regulation and enforcement after October up to the USDA.

Further, if it is determined a violation was committed with a culpable mental state greater than negligence, USDA will report the violation to law enforcement. While USDA has not yet conducted any random audits, the department may conduct random audits of licensees to verify hemp is being produced in accordance with Subtitle G of the AMA no more frequently than every three years, based on available resources. The format of the audit will vary and may include a “desk-audit” where USDA requests records from a licensee, or the audit may be a physical visit to a licensee’s facility. When USDA visits a licensee’s facility, the licensee must provide access to any fields, greenhouses, storage facilities, or other locations where the licensee produces hemp. USDA may also request records from the licensee, to include production and planting data, testing results, and other information as determined by USDA.

The words of the plans do not have meaning if they are not aligned with current authorities. As of November 2020, States and Tribes operating under the 2018 Farm Bill reported 4,192 licensed producers representing 6,166 acres planted. Of these acres planted, there were 231 disposals representing 730 acres disposed due to not meeting the 0.3 percent acceptable hemp THC level. This data is limited because even though many States and Tribes have approved plans, they have not all been fully implemented. USDA expects more data will be available as the 2021 season begins and States and Tribes implement their programs.

The interim final rule became effective when it was published in the Federal Register last week. In addition to the hemp grown on each kins domain, another 100 acres will be grown by the community cooperatively. To provide a market for the veterans’ crop, a 100,000 square foot CBD processing plant is being built by project partner Hemp Inc. The facility will produce cannabidiol products for market and for medicinal use by members of the community. Another controversy that rocked hemp production is insurance for cannabis farming. Though the new regulations do not give direct clarity, its approval offers more light to the insurance industry.

While hemp was produced previously in the United States (U.S.) for hundreds of years, its use diminished in favor of alternatives. Rope made from these materials was lighter, more buoyant, and more resistant to saltwater than hemp rope, which required tarring. The cotton gin, for example, simplified the processing of cotton, which replaced hemp in the manufacture of textiles. With federal acceptance, do you think we might see fewer of these reports of law enforcement seizing tons of hemp after confusing it with marijuana?

Those who want to obtain a permit for growing hemp in Florida will have to fill out an application on the website. Because many of those needing merchant processing are currently in the CBD business, this service can be more complex than other financial services. Food and Drug Administration has not yet put forth federal CBD regulations, leaving an unregulated industry that states have been comment fait on du cbd forced to tackle themselves. But even for experienced business owners, the above issues, coupled with a lingering stigma associating hemp with federally unregulated cannabis, results in few well-known banks willing to back the industry. Given their own diverse resources and challenges, our members will benefit from greater clarity from USDA in meeting the requirements of the 2018 Farm Bill.

Coronavirus Federal Stimulus Bills: Updated Overview And Faq For Cannabis, Hemp And Ancillary Businesses

Perhaps most critically for the industry, consistent with the Farm Bill, the interim regulations ban states and tribes from prohibiting the transportation or shipment of hemp produced in accordance with the rule through its borders. The Delaware Domestic Hemp Production Program Participant Guide includes specific guidelines and forms for hemp producers, processors, and handlers. It is recommended that each participant download and print the Delaware Domestic Hemp Research Program Participant Guide to help gain a better understanding of the program. Required forms are also available for download in the corresponding participant categories below. The 2018 Farm Bill, signed by the President on December 20, 2018, permanently legalized hemp and hemp products, establishing them as agricultural commodities, and removing them from the purview of the Controlled Substances Act.

For example, if a producer uses the same seed in multiple locations, and that seed results in a THC level over 0.3 percent, all of that production must be disposed or remediated. However, AMS wants to clarify that a producer may not be found to have committed more than one negligent violation per year. The IFR specified that a producer commits a negligent violation when a reasonable effort to grow hemp is made and the total THC dry weight concentration exceeds 0.5 percent. Additionally, the final rule expands the definition of “law enforcement” to include Tribal law enforcement. Comments noted that AMS had not yet posted disposal guidelines on its website at the time those comments were submitted, although the IFR had committed AMS to doing so. Some comments said interested entities were unable to complete applications for program participation because AMS had not yet provided disposal requirements.

In general, commenters preferred more regulatory flexibility to address the widespread concern of insufficient laboratory capacity as a result of laboratory certification/registration/accreditation requirements. The time and cost involved is most challenging for smaller and start-up labs. The initial accreditation can cost $5,000-$10,000 and yearly ongoing costs are $3,000-$8,000. Smaller labs may not have the resources to pursue accreditation in a timely manner or they may have to spend additional time and money for consultants to assist them in setting up a quality management system and to navigate the application and audit processes. AMS received significant input from commenters on how hemp sampling procedures and requirements should be changed.

They further stated that the THC found in CBD products can be intoxicating and has caused significant and serious consequences in terms of job loss, health, and exposure to pediatric populations. Some comments provided personal testimony that while using CBD for health benefits they had not experienced psychoactive or intoxicating effects. Other commenters stated that the DEA lab accreditation process requires State approval and not Tribe approval and that this is unworkable because of occasionally difficult relationships between some Tribes and States and because hemp is prohibited in a couple of States. Another comment argued that although accreditation is costly, relying on it could help enforce strict standards and ensure less variability between testing labs.

Law360 Uk

USDA will evaluate all information collected during this period to adjust, if necessary, this rule before finalizing. A few comments suggested the adoption of a random risk-based sampling and testing scheme to reduce grower costs and relieve pressure on approved labs by reducing the number and volume of required tests. One comment indicated State hemp regulators have successfully developed sampling requirements for end-use that ensure adherence to State and Federal regulations, while allowing for flexibilities around State resources. Another comment said that the sampling requirements in the IFR, as applied to a 170-acre field, could require the sampling of as many as 110 plants from that field which would be impossible for a state department of agriculture to meet. As an alternative, USDA might provide a fixed sliding scale (for example, a lot of less than 10 acres requires 5 plants; a lot between 10 acres and 20 acres requires 6 plants; and so on) rather than leaving those calculations to each state.

According to the USDA, this change will better allow producers to account for variables such as testing requirements, weather, agricultural practices, and equipment delays. The new rule also empowers jurisdictions to develop testing methods that best account for relevant environmental and regulatory factors. In fact, the rule expressly disavows the “highly prescriptive rules and requirements” that many producers criticized during the open comment period. USDA appears to recognize that hemp farmers may take all necessary precautions and adhere to all best practices, yet still produce plants that exceed the acceptable hemp THC threshold.