New Bill Would Raise THC Limit For Hemp

U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) has introduced the Hemp Economic Mobilization Plan (HEMP) Act of 2020, which would change the legal definition of hemp to raise the THC limit from 0.3% to 1%. Currently, any hemp crops testing above 0.3% have to be destroyed.

The legislation would require testing of the final hemp-derived product instead of the hemp flower or plant itself, as the 15-day window for testing the hemp flower or plant does not take potential testing backlogs, lack of personnel to collect samples, harvesting time, or environmental factors that farmers cannot control into account.

Sen. Paul’s HEMP Act would also protect legitimate hemp farmers, processors, and transporters by requiring hemp shipments to contain a copy of the seed certificate showing the hemp was grown from 1% THC seed, and it would address current uncertainty by defining a margin of error for testing THC levels. Neither current law nor the USDA’s interim final rule provide such a margin.

The bill has support from the advocacy groups like the Kentucky Hemp Association, Vote Hemp and the American Farm Bureau Federation.

For additional details on the HEMP Act of 2020, visit www.paul.senate.gov.