US Cannabis Council Proposes Federal Prohibition for Hemp-Derived Products With THC

Cannabis Business Times

I report via the the Cannabis Business Times article as the USCC have no reference to this letter on their website (12 April 2024)

I do have to wryly smile to myself when i see that the person in charge of this organisation “worrying” about hemp derivatives and placing wording within the farm bill to decimate a part of the hemp industry worked for 25 years at that paragon of healthy eating, the McDonalds corporation.

I’m not the biggest fan of hemp derivatives by any stretch of the imagination but i feel as though i’m about to become its biggest defender when i delve into these double standards.

The report reveals

U.S. Cannabis Council (USCC), which is dedicated to building a federally legal and equitable cannabis industry, proposed a new definition for intoxicating hemp-derived products in a letter (below) that the group’s executive director, Edward Conklin, sent the chairs and ranking members of the U.S. House and Senate agriculture committees on April 10.

Following is the additional definition for hemp being proposed by the USCC for inclusion in the Farm Bill.

Products in final form intended for human or animal consumption which are:

Made or derived from hemp or hemp biproducts; and
Contain detectable quantities of total THC and any other intoxicant that can be derived from hemp including other forms of THC; and
Are intended to be consumed or absorbed inside the body by any means, including inhalation, ingestion, insertion, or topical application, shall be excluded from the current definition of hemp and considered marijuana as defined by 21 U.S.C 802(16).

“This proposal protects the allowances granted to farmers, allowing legitimate agricultural and industrial hemp producers the flexibility they need to navigate the changing plant characteristics when growing in the field, while taking away the loopholes that have created the current gray market environment for unregulated hemp-derived intoxicants,” Conklin wrote. “The recommendation makes clear that products containing intoxicants which are derived from the Cannabis sativa L. plant cannot be defined as ‘hemp.’”

This letter comes as leaders in the House and Senate agriculture committees—Sens. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and John Boozman, R-Ark., and Reps. Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., and David Scott, D-Ga.—are tasked with reauthorizing the 2018 Farm Bill, which federally legalized industrial hemp, defined by having no more than 0.3% THC on a dry-weight basis, beyond state pilot programs. The lawmakers hope to pass a new Farm Bill before the end of 2024 after they were unable to do so last year.