Not all hemp cannabinoids would be banned under a controversial amendment proposed for the next US Farm Bill, according to an analysis by a key legislative body.
The Congressional Research Service (CRS), the main think tank of Congress, said that the change, which would close the widespread distribution of illegal drugs hemp, would not affect CBD and other psychoactive, natural compounds obtained from the hemp flower.
“This (amendment) would not ban all hemp cannabinoid products, such as CBD, but would require USDA to make decisions based on available scientific research and quantification methods,” according to an article released earlier this week by CRS, a nonpartisan congressional lobby. policy analysis.
What’s in ‘Miller’
The legislative update to the Farm Bill, known as the Miller Amendment by Illinois Rep. Mary Miller, who introduced it, dropped out of the House Agriculture Committee last month. It redefines hemp to distinguish between plants grown for flowers from which the psychoactive hemp substances are extracted, and more traditional “industrial hemp”, which includes crops grown for food in the form of grain, and those grown for the plant’s valuable fiber .
As approved by the House Committee, the updated draft farm bill allows only natural or naturally derived intoxicating compounds and redefines the 0.3% THC limit for hemp as a mixture of delta-9 THC and THCA.
Some language unchanged
Language in the landmark 2018 Farm Bill that legalized industrial hemp specifically referred to the 0.3% delta-9 THC limit as the dividing line between hemp and marijuana. It also put forward a unified, all-inclusive definition of hemp as “any part of this plant, including its seeds and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and isomers.”
That statutory language would remain largely unchanged, the CRS analysis says, with the updated language “specifying that hemp would exclude (only) unnatural synthetic and intoxicating products (ie, allowing only natural or derived non-intoxicating products).”
The exclusion of synthetic compounds is consistent with the April 2024 ruling by the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) regarding the narcotic synthetic compound HHC, according to CRS analysis. In that case, the DEA determined that HHC “does not occur naturally in the Cannabis sativa L. plant and can only be obtained synthetically and therefore does not fall within the definition of hemp.” Some states have passed or are considering similar restrictions for the full range of synthetic hemp compounds that also include delta-8 THC, delta-10 THC, THC-O-acetate, THCP and others, most of which are produced by placing CBD extracts from hemp flowers through a process in the laboratory.
“While the amendment does not define intoxication, it would ban hemp cannabinoid products with ‘measurable amounts’ of total THC (including THCA) or other cannabinoids that have (or are marketed to have) ‘similar effects in humans or animals’ and ( delta-9) THC, as determined by the USDA,” CRS emphasized.
Hemp for food and fiber
The pending farm bill update would therefore limit the definition of industrial hemp to mean hemp grown for fiber or for “the whole grain, oil, cake, nut, hull, or other non-cannabinoid compound, derivative, mixture, preparation, or product.” of the seeds of such a plant,” according to the CRS paper.
CRS noted that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continues to assert that products containing cannabis and cannabinoids, including CBD, THC and other cannabinoids, remain under its jurisdiction. As such, the FDA claims that it is illegal under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) to “introduce foods containing added CBD or THC into interstate commerce or market CBD or THC products as or in dietary supplements, regardless of whether or not they contain.” whether the materials are made from hemp.”
Other changes
Among other changes to the farm bill affecting hemp, language in the measure would reduce or eliminate testing requirements and background checks for licensee applicants, the CRS analysis says. Also, the proposed provisions would take steps to eliminate the current 10-year period of license ineligibility for felons who were convicted of crimes related to a controlled substance.
The next Farm Bill — originally the 2023 Farm Bill, but which has been repeatedly pushed back and may not be ready until 2025 — is a massive $1 trillion agriculture spending package passed every five years.
CRS noted that an appropriations bill currently under consideration in the House also includes language that would exclude narcotic compounds in hemp. While this legislation also allows for natural and natural hemp cannabinoid products, it does not include a definition of industrial hemp, which “could create confusion,” CRS said.
#tank #Miller #Amendment #ban #CBD #hemp #cannabinoids