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A recently published analysis of smokable hemp products by researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) found that the vast majority of samples–about 93 percent—contained more than 0.3 percent THC, meaning they in fact qualified as federally illegal marijuana.
Under the 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized hemp nationwide, cannabis products must contain less than 0.3 percent THC in order to be defined as hemp. Those with higher THC levels remain federally prohibited as a Schedule I controlled substance. The distinction is especially important, the report says, in determining whether cannabis seized by law enforcement is legal hemp or forbidden marijuana.
In the new study, researchers at NIST—an arm of the Commerce Department—and the State University of New York (SUNY) Albany analyzed 53 smokable hemp products from five commercial manufacturers for a variety of cannabinoids, including delta-8 THC, delta-9 THC, THC-A and total delta-9 THC. The manufacturers and product names are not included in the report.
“Over 90% of the samples analyzed by NIST were determined to have a total total Δ9-THC mass fraction above 0.3 % even though samples were being marketed as hemp,” says the report, published last month in the journal Forensic Chemistry. “Surprisingly, often the associated online documentation reported total Δ9-THC mass fractions of ≥0.3 %.”
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