USDA-Final-Rule.pdf (1.1 MB)
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301 pages. See you all tomorrow
Good changes I see:
30 day harvest window instead of 15
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Thanks for sharing!
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"For this reason, this final rule allows remediation activities,
either disposing of flower materials and salvaging the remainder of the plant or blending the
entire plant into biomass plant material. "
This should help growers a bit.
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This is extremely frustrating, especially given that the USDA punted back to the DEA.
I am hopeful though that the incoming Biden administration will push the USDA to adopt the congressional report language in the omnibus appropriations bill directing USDA to develop regs protecting the processing of “in-process” hemp extract that may temporarily exceed the .3% THC threshold.
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That’s not gunna happen.
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Thank you! How’d you know it dropped so much sooner than me and many others?
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USDA sent out email notifications at about 10:30am EST
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Yeah, it was from the local trade org and I saw it hadn’t been posted yet.
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Its also on the USDA website now - with a few webinars discussing what they think the changes mean. 
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.5%-1%? d9thc there you go boys
Negligent violation – producers must dispose of plants that exceed the acceptable hemp THC level. However, if the plant tests at or below the negligent threshold stated in the rule, producer will not have committed a negligent violation. The final rule raises the negligence threshold from .5 percent to 1 percent and limits the maximum number of negligent violations that a producer can receive in a growing season (calendar year) to one.
Please note that this statement is for plants and its specific to registered/licensed farmers. The USDA, in classic fashion, has punted the work in progress and extracts stuff to the DEA. They did ask the questions - and lots of us submitted comments, but these “new final rules” do not address some of the major issues making people pucker.
I’m still digesting the new rules - cause they do not address all the issues and we need to keep pushing until things are clear. Otherwise people will get caught in these “loopholes”.
I have not seen anything new from DEA since they published their rule last summer either. Which is super frustrating. I expect we’ll see it in the next 3-5 weeks, maybe sooner with a new administration. The DEA’s rule came out about 3 weeks after the USDA’s, so I have some hope.
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Yeah it’s not gonna help d8 but definitely farmers.
straight from the text
“AMS response: Delta-8 THC only exists in a trace amount in marijuana which has a high
Delta-9 THC concentration. The Delta-9 THC amount is already low in hemp, so the
concentration of Delta-8 THC would be basically undetectable in hemp. A quote from the
“WHO Expert Committee on Drug Dependence Critical Review - Isomers of THC” regarding
the relative amount of Delta-8 THC to Delta-9 THC that can be found
at https://www.who.int/medicines/access/controlled-substances/IsomersTHC.pdf?ua=1.
The above range means that Delta-8 THC occurs at a level that is roughly 1000 times less
than Delta-9 THC. So, if Delta-9 THC was observed at 0.3 percent in hemp, then the Delta-8
THC concentration would be roughly around 0.0003 percent. This contribution is completely
negligible and contributes nothing significant to the total THC content. The trace amount of
Delta-8 THC is about 100 times less than the uncertainty (MU) of the test method, further
demonstrating that it is insignificant and not worthy of consideration in the final assessment of
THC for hemp compliance.”
“Delta-8 THC is a cannabinoid that can be formed from delta-9 THC. It is typically only
found in very small quantities in plants, if it is found at all, and is more often obtained by
growing a plant with high delta-9 THC and then converting the delta-9 THC into delta-8 THC
through an extraction and conversion process in a lab to make a distillate product. It is rarely
included in total THC calculations and many labs do not test for it. Delta-8 THC is unrelated to the 0.3 percent delta-9 THC limit or the “post-decarboxylation delta-9 THC” that are defined and required in this final rule.”
huh? thats the only mention of d8-thc
Sounds like Delta 8 is being kicked out of the hemp program. Is USDA washing their hands of cannabinoids that don’t naturally occur at significant levels. et tu CBN?
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Would this surprise anyone?
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Probably not most people. If Delta 8 is basically ignored by USDA it seems more likely that dea could claim authority. Could also apply to other minors.
The DEA: 
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the DEA already claims authority over all synthetic Tetrahydrocannabinols
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