The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced through its Agricultural Marketing Service on Monday that it has finalized its Final Rule creating the U.S. Hemp Production Program. The USDA is required to make the rule through the 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized hemp products throughout the United States. It adds provisions regarding licensing, recordkeeping, testing THC levels, non-compliant plant disposal, and violation procedures.
The final rule, which was announced on January 15 and opened for public comment, will become effective on March 22, 2021. The announcement explained that the USDA and other agencies reviewed the pending regulation as part of the transition between the Trump and Biden administrations and approved it. The new USDA secretary, Tom Vilsack, reportedly approved the final rule after the department’s review.
According to the announcement, the final rule modifies the interim final rule, which was published in October 2019. The USDA website said the final rule “incorporates modifications (of the interim rule) based on public comments and lessons learned during the 2020 growing season.”
Under the final rule, states and tribes will develop plans for maintaining, testing, and disposal of hemp products which will be approved by the USDA, or, alternatively, producers in locations without an approved plan can fall under the federal plan. The USDA has already begun approving plans for various tribes and states.
This final rule comes about two years after hemp was legalized. Marijuana Moment reported that although there will not be changes to the rule before its effective date, there are still some changes that hemp advocacy organizations and businesses are hoping for. The article quoted Jonathan Miller, general counsel for the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, who said, “there are a few issues still remaining, including the continued involvement of the (Drug Enforcement Administration) in registering labs.” However, Miller said the Roundtable is “hopeful that we can resolve issues like that through continued discussions.”
