New federal regulations would make it harder for hemp growers to prove their plants are not marijuana, in what could be a major setback to a promising industry legalized just two years ago, farmers and state officials say. The U.S. Department of Agriculture in October unveiled stricter standards for hemp testing than many states had allowed under pilot programs that date to 2014. Now states are scrambling to adapt, and farmers are worrying they’ll face a higher risk of having to destroy crops that test “hot” as marijuana. “Once again, Washington, D.C., is out of touch with rural America,” said Democratic Vermont state Sen. John Rodgers, who is also a hemp farmer. Hemp and marijuana are separated by a fine legal line: Federal law defines cannabis plants with a concentration greater than 0.3% of the psychoactive compound tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, as illegal marijuana. Plants with a lower concentration are defined as hemp, which can be legally sold anywhere. The interim USDA rule that states must adopt by November requires more rigorous testing within a shorter time frame than many states have required so far. It also gives farmers less wiggle room to salvage crops that grow hot, or above the 0.3% THC mark. Last year in the 16 states that shared their data with Stateline, 4,309 acres of hemp out of more than 179,000 acres planted were destroyed because plants tested over the 0.3% limit. Five state agriculture departments did not respond to a Stateline request for data. Thirteen states did not have a hemp program last year. The remaining states either shared partial data — for instance, acres licensed but not acres destroyed — or could not provide data in acres. Many state agriculture officials said failures could spike under the federal rule. In Maine, for instance, none of the more than 2,000 acres tested last year were considered hot. But under the USDA’s more stringent testing standards, more than a fourth of the crop would have failed, according to State Horticulturalist Gary Fish. “It’s one thing to say, ‘After this date such and such happens,’ but what are the realities of enforcement?” asked Will Tarleton, founder of Canvast Supply Co., a Tennessee-based seed supplier and consulting group on hemp farming. “That’s ultimately everyone’s concern. ‘Am I going to jail or not? Am I going to lose my farm or not?’ There’s a lot riding on the farmer to do the right thing.” Some advocates say there’s no way small farmers can comply. “The testing rules are designed to create as many violations and crop failures as possible,” said Mark Barnett, a Maine cannabis advocate and retailer of the popular hemp extract cannabidiol, known as CBD. State leaders have time to persuade federal officials to make changes, however. While the USDA’s interim rule goes into effect Nov. 1, final regulations may not be issued until after the 2021 growing season. “We will use the comments received and lessons learned during the growing season to help us develop the final regulations,” said U.S. Agricultural Marketing Service Administrator Bruce Summers in a teleconference with reporters earlier this month. Farmers in about 22 states grew hemp under pilot programs prior to the 2018 farm bill, and all but three states now allow hemp production. At least 30 states will have to revise their laws and regulations to comply with the interim rule, said Barb Glenn, CEO of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, an Arlington, Virginia-based membership group. States such as Texas that never created a pilot hemp program are at a disadvantage, according to Coleman Hemphill, president of the hemp advocacy group Texas Hemp Industries Association. https://www.oregonlive.com/nation/2020/02/new-regulations-could-hamper-cbd-hemp-boom.html
