This week the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released draft rules for hemp manufacturing and that it will start to accept state regulatory plans for the newly legal crop.
On Thursday the interim final rule on hemp will be formally published in the Federal Register and will have a 60-day public comment period to follow.
Once the rules are finalized, USDA will begin to evaluate states’ and tribes’ submitted regulations plans, and any jurisdictions that do not send proposals will fall under the department’s general guidelines for producing the crop.
Regulations include the requirements for where hemp can be grown, THC testing standards, the disposal process for crops that don’t meet federal standards, as well as licensing protocols.
“At USDA, we are always excited when there are new economic opportunities for our farmers, and we hope the ability to grow hemp will pave the way for new products and markets,” USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue stated.
“We have had teams operating with all hands-on-deck to develop a regulatory framework that meets Congressional intent while seeking to provide a fair, consistent, and science-based process for states, tribes, and individual producers who want to participate in this program,” he added.
Shawn Hauser, partner and chair of the hemp and cannabinoids practice group at Vicente Sederberg LLP, stated “there is an undeniable sense of progress that comes with reading federal regulations for hemp farming in the U.S.—something that was outlawed for decades, which so many people fought to achieve.”
“Many people will be disappointed to see such stringent enforcement provisions related to concerns about hemp exceeding legal THC limits. For example, the rules require disposal of ‘hot hemp’ by a federal agent, even if there are reasonable options to remediate it and avoid loss of a crop,” Hauser said. “These provisions feel like relics of prohibition and come at a risk and expense to farmers, but they do not come as a surprise. It takes time to transition from prohibition to a regulatory model.”
