The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) on January 19 published in the Federal Register the final regulations for the production of hemp.
The new regulation that will come into effect on March 22 is presented almost three years after the legalization of cannabis cultivation at the federal level. The 2018 Farm Law already required the department to draft this law.
Previously, a law proposal had been presented which opened a period for collecting suggestions with which more than 4,600 applications were collected, reflecting the general discontent and rejection of the measures originally presented.
The most notable changes in this new regulation have to do with the THC levels allowed in the plant. It is considered that industrial hemp should not exceed 0.3%, even so, percentages of up to 1% will be tolerated without ordering the destruction of the crops. Another of the relevant reforms concerns the presentation of samples for the analysis and control of said substances by the department.
Hemp solutions are needed
Despite all the improvements and the conclusive nature of the regulation, some voices in the industry consider it insufficient and restrictive, in terms of the THC ranges and the requirements demanded for tests and tests. As Jonathan Miller, general counsel of the Hemp Roundtable, an organization that represents several American cannabis companies, stated in Marijuana Moment, “it seems to be clear that it is a definitive reform with respect to the provisional rule, however it is not perfect. It does not go that far in some key aspects that we demand ”.
Since 2018 the USDA has been reviewing and accepting plans to relentlessly regulate hemp cultivation. In recent months it has signed offers from states such as Rhode Island, Illinois, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Michigan and even some Indian tribes. And as we reported in early January, New York plans to begin negotiations to legalize marijuana in 2021.
Even with its criticisms and deficiencies, the Hemp Production Law presented by the government is important as cannabis is not considered a prohibited substance and regulations are developed accordingly. With polls showing how 68% of Americans support the legal use of marijuana and 90% would allow its therapeutic use, legislators are being forced, by the express wish of their constituents, to innovate and propose more sensible and humane policies regarding the use and consumption of cannabis.
