In the Weeds: Hemp legislation updates from USDA and State of Texas
Five months following the passage of Texas House Bills 3703 and 1325, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced a domestic hemp production program to regulate the growing legalization of hemp across the nation.
In June, the 86th Texas Legislature passed House Bill 3703, which permits prescription medical marijuana for illnesses, and House Bill 1325, which legalizes the production of hemp with a THC concentration of less than 0.3%. The latter legislation follows the hemp definition laid out in the 2018 Farm Bill.
Following this passage, state entities, local law enforcement and the legal system struggled with enforcing and persecuting marijuana usage, which is still and illegal controlled substance in accordance with state and federal law.
Hemp and marijuana are both derived from cannabis sativa, but hemp must have a THC concentration of less than 0.3%.
To determine if an individual is legally using hemp or illegally using marijuana, law enforcement would need testing to prove the THC concentration is above the legal limit, which is not currently available in many law enforcement testing centers.
As a result, many counties have held on persecuting cases involving cannabis products until guidelines
On Oct. 29, USDA released an interim final rule for regulations that includes sampling and testing for its THC content and what happens when a crop breaches the 0.3% THC limit. The sampling and testing procedure guidelines are expected to be evolving to account for improvements in the still new testing technology. A crop above 0.3% THC is considered to be marijuana and must be disposed as a controlled substance.
With these new guidelines, law enforcement, legal systems, and state legislatures will have more tools to assess this conversation moving forward.
Texas is expected to readdress hemp laws, including the growth of hemp in Texas, in the 87th Texas Legislature in 2021.
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