USDA Establishes Domestic Hemp Production Program

WASHINGTON, October 29, 2019 — U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced the establishment of the U.S. Domestic Hemp Production Program. This program, as required by the 2018 Farm Bill, creates a consistent regulatory framework around hemp production throughout the United States.

“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,” said Secretary Perdue. “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.”

Click on ink below to Read More:

URL. USDA Establishes Domestic Hemp Production Program | USDA

6 Likes

Draft Interim Final Rule

Highlights:
*Testing - post decarb via GC or HPLC, d9 THC + THCA (0.877)
*Lab results must include margin of error. If 0.3% is within the range, or the entire range is below 0.3%, it’s compliant. (i.e. for a sample with 0.35% with 95% confidence MOE 0.06% yields range of 0.29-0.41% = Compliant.)
*Testing labs must be registered with DEA, among other reqs.
*pre-harvest sampling. Harvest of lot must be complete within 15 days of sample date.
*Producers and those storing (includes handlers) plant material must register.
*criminal history checks for license applicants
*State plans can preempt federal plan.
*no restriction on interstate commerce.
*silent on limitations on final products… defers to fda

14 Likes

how are they going to do this? who is establishing the RSD? I mean isnt it 20% in some states?

There’s an entire separate volume for sampling and testing guidelines. I would presume it has to do with representative samples, multiple tests per lot, and equipment accuracy.

2 Likes

So total thc has to be below .3% post decarb? What if my state only tests for d9 thc? It sounds like states still have a lot of legroom on what they want to regulate?

1 Like

I wouldn’t expect loopholes like that to last, most states are catching on to the idea that selling to the public a product with say 3%THCA and 0.25%D9 can easily be converted by the consumer to contain 2%+D9 without expensive or commercial means

2 Likes

Also, in that 15 day window, someone from the government is going to come take, test, and confirm a sample before you can harvest :joy:

7 Likes

yah, but it seems really hard to keep total thc below .3%. Are all of OregonCBD seeds easily below .3% total thc?

2 Likes

‘Or designee’ … gives states flexibility to authorize labs to do so on their behalf. Not saying that’s what they’re going to do, but a likely path forward.

1 Like

Is smokeable flowers fate sealed?

1 Like

Oh it is definitely hard, that’s why most don’t do smokable. There are some ways to deal with it

1 Like

Those super accurate, DEA certified labs? I agree that’s the way the will lean, and make the whole lab testing side of things an even bigger conundrum

4 Likes

DEA registered. No accreditation requirement there. Though USDA is looking to Incorporate their own registration with more common standards (iso accreditation most likely). So to use a lab for hemp testing, it would need to be registered with the DEA and USDA. All up for comment once the comment period opens.

1 Like

TBD. Interstate commerce of hemp is permitted, but the producer license is required to have plants or plant material in possession/storage for ‘further processing’.

Damn regulatory double speak.

Read another way:
If you’re selling a finished, compliant product to the general public or a retailer that will not be doing additional processing then the buyer is not required to be licensed.

If you’re selling a product to a business who will be further processing the material, that buyer needs to be a licensed hemp producer.

Conclusion: no prohibition against smokeable hemp flower. DM for SOP. :sunglasses:

CA is doing it in 30 days now.

In Oregon, recreational indoor grows had a 3 day window for testing to be considered ‘in the same batch’.

This was for when your cannabis flower was tested (more uniform, reliable results of THC/CBD production).

What about he “Black Laws Dictionary” definition of negligence and the .5% limit when it comes to lab deviation?

Seems to me an awful lot like the whole “gray area law practice” that prosecutors LOVE to have on their side.

Good sampling, lab practices, and equipment will keep those MU ranges tight. Given that all samples must be reported to USDA, large MU ranges will likely be blatantly obvious to regulators and could subject a lab/farm to additional oversight.

If the lower end of your range includes 0.3%, it’s hemp and free to enter commerce. If the lower end of the range is >0.3% and <0.49%, you’re just going to destroy the crop, consider that your free pass. If the lower end of your range is >=0.5%, the authorities will consider you negligent and are free to drop the hammer.

1 Like

Agreed. I guess it was more of a rhetorical question.

Paving the way for Gencanna and corporate greed. I’m about to go get some pollen and crop dust their fields.

I’m working with a geneticist from MSU right now and working on some new strains using tissue cultures and finding out how to “shut-off” the antagonist of CBG. This woman is SMART! Her husband is the head of the AG extension of the university, so we have access to all the “ cool toys”.

I’m not letting these asshats cash in on a crop that we’ve all grown for years, developed procedural extractions and lab practices just to let them steal it and put us all outta business.

13 Likes

Seems to me hemp seed will be a more valuable crop in the future anyways

5 Likes