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The Latest. Why Belarus is using migrants as a political weapon By Ellen Ioanes. Each state has to submit its hemp program plan to the USDA for approval to implement the process.
Once the USDA approves it, the state can proceed. A couple of states continued to restrict hemp cultivation even after the Farm Bill became law. There are a few caveats mentioned in the Farm Bill. First of all, farmers must apply for an exclusive hemp growing license.
Without it, they are breaking the law if they try to cultivate the crop. Also, all industrial hemp must contain a maximum of 0. Unfortunately, hemp that exceeds this amount is destroyed. This is devastating news whenever it happens. Apart from the cost of a license, hemp production is extremely labor-intensive.
Newcomers to the industry must spend tens of thousands of dollars on new equipment and retrofits. Nonetheless, it is sold in the vast majority of states. By early , industrial hemp farming was legal throughout the United States, except in Mississippi and Idaho. However, in June , Mississippi lawmakers voted to legalize the crop in the state.
This meant Idaho was the sole standout. Governor Brad Little signed H. This legislation legalizes the production, processing, research, and transportation of industrial hemp. Hemp cultivation is legal in all 50 states, though legislation in Idaho will take a few years to get into motion.
However, in Idaho, at least, farmers will likely have to wait until to proceed. The Farm Bill relates specifically to commercial hemp growing. Therefore, it begs the question: Are you allowed to grow hemp at home? After all, it is federally legal to grow hemp on huge farms as long as the crop contains less than 0. Ever since December , people around the U.
In these get-togethers, the hosts told attendees that they had the freedom to cultivate hemp outside in the same manner as they could grow tomatoes.
This led to more than a few people pledging to spend thousands of dollars, creating a grow room indoors for hemp. Unfortunately, the Farm Bill of did not address the issue of residential growth. The law was passed specifically to award the agriculture sector a new cash crop. The hope was that it would stimulate local economies and give struggling farmers a much-needed break. As things stand, you are not permitted to grow hemp at home in states where cannabis cultivation is illegal.
If you are caught cultivating hemp in these places, you are treated as if you have grown marijuana! If you live in a state such as Colorado or California, where it IS legal to grow cannabis, you are also allowed to grow hemp. Although Betsy Ross sewed the first American flag with hemp fibers and George Washington grew hemp at Mount Vernon, the fibrous plant, often confused with marijuana, became illegal during the Prohibition era, as politicians tried to regulate pharmaceuticals.
Marijuana and hemp both come from the same species of plant, Cannabis sativa. Today, 30 countries around the world allow farmers to grow industrial hemp, China being the largest producer and exporter. Canada, which produces hemp for food and toiletries, legalized the crop in The US, on the other hand, has restricted hemp production and categorized hemp in Schedule 1 of the Controlled Substances Act, attributing it as a relative of marijuana.
That, however, is changing. As of March , more than half of the 50 states have laws that allow for some hemp production, according to this chart. Yet, many states, such as California, where Jungmaven is based, will only allow for industrial hemp cultivation when federal law coincides with state law. That is, when Congress passes a bill permitting industrial hemp across the US. The Agricultural Act of , or more commonly known as the Farm Bill, did open a few doors: namely, allowing states to experiment with hemp for research purposes.
Plus it defined industrial hemp as having less than 0. Still, hemp is different from other crops such as cotton, wheat, and soy because farmers are required to get approval from the Drug Enforcement Agency DEA before they sow the seeds. Setting the testing and sampling procedures outside of the interim rule allows the guidance documents to be improved without going through an all-out rulemaking. These new rules acknowledge the statistical uncertainty that comes with sampling and testing a hemp crop for THC.
The regulations allow for the inclusion of the measurement of uncertainty as laboratories report THC test results. Essentially, the measurement of uncertainty could be understood to be similar to a margin of error or for the economists in the room: confidence interval. When the measurement of uncertainty e. If the 0. For example, say a laboratory reports a result of 0.
The distribution ranges from 0. Again, for the economists and statistics nerds tuning in, think of a hypothesis test that fails to reject the null hypothesis that the result is statistically different than 0.
The measurement of uncertainty depends on multiple variables, such as the equipment being used, the methodology of the test, the sample size, the sample quality and other variables, and as such it will vary with each sample that is tested.
These new rules also acknowledge the fact that a farmer may unintentionally produce a crop that tests over the limit despite their efforts to produce a crop that complies with federal law.
The rule determines that a producer does not commit a negligent violation if they produce plants that exceed the acceptable hemp THC level as long as they use reasonable efforts to grow the plant and it does not test at more than 0. Although a farmer testing above 0.
While states and tribes will differ in how they handle farmers who become negligent, at a minimum, if a farmer negligently violates a state or tribal plan three times in a five-year period, they will be ineligible to produce hemp for the next five years. Additionally, negligent violations are not subject to criminal enforcement action. Many were hoping for rules that would let farmers dispose of the plants in a more productive manner, such as composting or for soil amendments.
Farmers will put considerable time, cost and effort into the crop, and it would be a shame to have to completely destroy the product with nothing to show for it. Ultimately, this rule does not address this problem the way farmers hoped. If a crop is above the THC limit, it is considered to be marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act and must be disposed of accordingly. Laws and regulations for the procedures of destroying a controlled substance are not set by USDA, and so the department was constrained in how it could address this issue.
It will have to be collected for destruction by someone authorized to handle a Schedule I controlled substance, such as a DEA-registered reverse distributor or a federal, state or local law enforcement officer. Farmers must document the disposal of the crop, which is now considered marijuana. This can be accomplished by providing USDA with a copy of the documentation of disposal provided by the authorized agent or by using reporting requirements established by USDA.
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