Petition Calls For Approval Of 1% THC Levels In Hemp

Hemp policy and advocacy group Vote Hemp is urging the hemp community to take advantage of a narrow window on Capitol Hill to sign and submit a petition telling Congress to change the legal definition of hemp to allow 1% THC.

“We need to let Congress know that changing the definition is critical to our nascent industry, especially for farmers,” said Eric Steenstra, president of Vote Hemp. “It is not fair to producers to who are already struggling due to difficult market conditions, to risk losing their hemp crop due to it testing slightly above the current federal limit of 0.3%. We hope to submit as many signatures as we can in the next 30 days, and encourage all members of the hemp community to sign and share the petition with their friends, colleagues and co-workers.”

Once Congress changes the definition, “there would be very few cases of America’s hemp farmers getting their crop destroyed. While the industry continues to work on more stable varieties, people would still have to be careful, but if we moved to 1%, the number of samples that would test hot would be very limited,” Steenstra said.

Vote Hemp initially advocated for a higher THC threshold but made a compromise to help pass legislation that would legalize hemp.

The American Farm Bureau Federation and National Farmers Union have issued public statements supporting higher THC levels — 1% and 3% respectively.

The Vote Hemp 1% petition reads:

Hemp is important to the future of farming in the U.S. and will create farming and manufacturing jobs for sustainable and healthy USA grown products. The 2018 Farm Bill authorized hemp production but used an outdated definition of hemp that does not work for farmers or the hemp industry. The current definition limiting hemp to 0.3% THC has proven unworkable forcing many farmers to destroy their crops because they were slightly over the limit. We need Congress to change the definition of hemp to allow up to 1% THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) so that farmers can grow hemp crops without fearing that they will later have to destroy them.

To learn more or sign the petition, visit www.votehemp.com/petition-1percent-hemp-definition.