I’m trying to solve an issue that has arisen on the hemp side of our business in the manufacturing plant. (hemp product manufacturing) someone in purchasing brought in some raw material of what appears to be hot full spectrum distillate. The distillate testes at 62% cbd /4.3% delta-9 /69.6% total cannabinoids.
The argument that has arisen is that obviously the definition of hemp would be bio mass with .3% delta-9 or less however once that is extracted and distilled that number is going to rise when you are left with a distilled final product. Is there a set number at the distillate level who what percentage needs to be maintained? They seem to be using a 10x 10 down factor as in .3% at plant level 3% at distillate level and back down to .3% at a final product level but that seems to bring up a lot of variability.
I’m sure you have a very expert opinion from a genetic/botanical point of view but that really is not what I am looking for my friend. The LEGAL definition of hemp is cannabis containing less than .3% THC (less THCa) that isn’t a matter that is up for debate, that is in black and white.
I’m really only interested in a legal discussion. Thank you though
if the playing field was even and the rules consistent it wouldn’t be near as much fun…
in Oregon “hemp” tests at 0.35% THC or less
(8) For testing done prior to January 1, 2020, a sample fails testing if the test report indicates that the sample contains THC of 0.35 percent or greater on a dry weight basis. If a sample from a harvest lot fails required THC testing under these rules the harvest lot fails required THC testing.
West Virginia calls it at 1%
I was also under them impression that some legislations still had “used for fiber production” as the definition.
Thanks, I understand that part on a plant basis but what happens when you extract and distill that plant matter? Theoretically, if you had enough plant matter at .35% or less and continued to run it you could eventually get to 90% THC distillate but that wouldn’t make said distillate legal to sell or possess.
My question is is their any A. Legal clarification or B. Mathematical formula that could be back tracked into a percentage of 9-thc content in distilled product.
“The 2018 Farm Bill took further action by removing hemp’s designation as a Schedule I drug. Specifically, the bill defines hemp as “the plant Cannabis sativa and any part of that plant, including the seeds thereof and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers, whether growing or not, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration (THC) of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis.”
The questions really comes down to this. We can use only plant matter containing .3% or less, no problem. We can dilute the distillate down in final products to contain less than .3% in the final product…no problem
But what on earth happens if an inspector (or the cops) come in and take some distillate off the shelf and tests it…what determines if you going to jail or not
States don’t ignore those laws. In fact before the Cole memorandum in which the Federal government separately agreed to avoid prosecution of State legal cannabis business’s. It was a very common occurrence to bring federal charges against state legal operators.
So yes, federal does supersede state, however in regard to cannabis the federal side has chosen to avoid most prosecution…which they can choose to stop doing at any time
That’s not how extraction works. The biomass has certain percentages of canibinoids and they are not compounded exponentially by extraction. Now if you where to separate the CBD from the THC it would be a different ballgame.
I had a discussion about this gap in the Farm Bill verbiage and subsequent gaps from the USDA and FDA with a lawyer/lobbyist for the industry. She spends most of her time inside the beltway dealing with this and a variety of other issues for the industry. According to her it is a known problem area that needs to be addressed but as of yet no one in the legislature has decided to champion the cause and get it addressed. She said it would take some considerable lobbying effort at this point to get it on the agenda for discussion on record in either the House or Senate. In other words, don’t hold your breath unless you’re willing to pony up for a lobbyist effort. This might be something worth doing as a group (maybe a Future4200 contingent who knows) but as a solo effort I doubt one of us could afford to take it on.
Final answer ? It’s a complete gray area. A lot of states have no specification so we are allowed to sell hot oil lab to lab and lab to producer it’s just a risk during transit. You dilute the oil in transit in ethanol and my buyers remove the ethanol so that we don’t carry liability in transit and can ensure the shipment. It’s all state based. If your state has addressed this issue then you have to abide by those laws. If they don’t adddress them as the majority of the nation and federal hemp bill does, then we can do as we please once it’s in our lab and disposing of the thc fraction or diluting the final product before it reaches retail shelves. The legal issue comes up in transportation. And that’s dealt with by dilution. Cause if your stopped and a sample is taken, the dilution will allow the sample to theoretically test below the legal limit. This also depends on how the lab they send it to runs their standards and testing. It’s essentially a fact that everyone is aware is dumb, broken, and not addressed, yet no one is doing anything about. So think about every remediation lab in the country. IF they are remediating for people that means they are intaking hot material every day. This is the usual route they go through. Some people don’t even bother diluting and just have the chain of documentation hoping that will be enough. Welcome to the industry where the rules are made up and the tests don’t matter
The laws vary between intrastrate commerce depending upon the state. Interstate and international commerce any extract must be below 0.3% delta 9 thc or else it is considered cannabis and not hemp.
This is extremely clear and not grey area I assure you.