Why Lawmakers Are Urging Clarity on Hemp Rules
U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, Sen. Tina Smith and Reps. Collin Peterson and Betty McCollum called on the leaders of four federal agencies to streamline hemp rules. Currently, they say, contradictory federal guidelines are leading to uncertainty in the market and preventing producers in Minnesota from fully reaping the economic benefits of growing hemp.
“The bipartisan 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp in order to create economic opportunities for farmers. Minnesota farmers appreciate the USDA’s efforts in implementing the Interim Rule on Establishment of a Domestic Hemp Production Program. However, despite the Interim Rule, there are still hurdles in place for Minnesota farmers to fully realize the economic benefits of growing hemp,” wrote the lawmakers in their letter to the USDA, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Sen. Smith and Reps. Craig, McCollum, and Peterson went on to identify some of the inconsistencies that need to be addressed.
“The federal regulatory framework has proven to be inconsistent. For example, the USDA’s rule stated that farmers will be held accountable – facing possible revoking of their licenses – if their crops test above a .5% THC level three times in a five-year period,” according to their statement. “Despite this somewhat onerous and arbitrary level, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) instituted its own rule saying that exceeding .3% THC level deems the crop a controlled substance. The burdensome competing rules don’t allow for remediation if the crop tests above the deemed inappropriate levels. Farmers should not be penalized for plants that they intended to grow as hemp, but for any number of reasons, the final THC numbers exceeded the arbitrary 0.3% THC level. At the same time, the FDA guidance on CBD is still pending at the OMB, which adds even more uncertainty to the marketplace.”
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