White House approves USDA hemp rules; release imminent

The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) federal hemp production rules, Hemp Industry Daily has learned. With approval from the OMB, which must sign off on new regulations from any federal agency, the public release of the interim production rules could come any day. Washington DC-based cannabis attorney Jonathan Havens wrote in an email to Hemp Industry Daily on Monday that he expects the USDA’s federal rules to include:

• Review of state hemp programs (i.e., criteria for USDA sign-off on the same).
• THC testing and, more specifically, the point or points at which THC must be tested.
• Processing requirements.
• Biomass transportation.

One of the biggest questions that remained unclear after approval of the 2018 Farm Bill is the legality of the transportation of hemp and its derivatives through states that don’t have or don’t want hemp programs, including states that still consider hemp and hemp-derived CBD to be controlled substances, Havens said. “Despite the Farm Bill’s language that nothing in the bill authorizes ‘interference with the interstate commerce of hemp,’ we know that law-enforcement officials in at least a few states (such as Idaho and South Dakota) have prosecuted hemp drivers,” Havens said. “Hopefully, the USDA will address this in its rules, although the agency could very well punt on it.” Complications setting nationwide THC testing rules, among other issues, have also caused a delay in releasing the federal rules for growing hemp, the agency has said...MORE