Virginia’s hemp industry has secured the support of Virginia’s entire Congressional delegation with regard to the USDA’s interim final rule governing the commercial production of hemp. Specifically, every single Congressman and woman signed a letter urging USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue to reconsider certain elements of the sampling and testing standards of the interim final rule. In summary, they recommended:
Taking a calculated-risk and hazard approach to sampling and testing, as opposed to requiring that every single crop be tested;
Extending the testing timeline to 30 days before harvest, as opposed to 15;
Allowing testing to be conducted at independent testing labs (in addition to DEA registered labs);
Raising the maximum THC allowance from 0.5% to the highest possible level USDA can muster; and
Adding mediation options so that farmers acting in good faith who accidentally exceeded the threshold can resolve the issue without fear of criminal prosecution.
Please feel free to use this letter as your exemplar when submitting comments to the USDA if you haven’t already. You can submit comments HERE.