These rules do not, however, grant anyone the right to begin planting hemp in Texas. There are still several more steps to the process to finalize Texas industrial hemp rules, according to
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service specialists working with hemp.
Hemp refers to the Cannabis plant with tetrahydrocannabinol, THC, concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry-weight basis. Cannabidiol, or CBD, is the most referenced product aligned with hemp production, but non-consumable hemp products include cloth, cordage, fiber, fuel, paint, paper, particleboard and plastics.
USDA hemp rules prompt Texas action
Tiffany Dowell Lashmet, AgriLife Extension agricultural law specialist, Amarillo, said a significant portion of the USDA rules tell tribes and states who are outlining their own hemp production plans what must be included. Another portion puts in place rules for producers in states or tribes that don’t want to create their own plan.
Texas, through the Texas Department of Agriculture, will be submitting a state plan, which must be approved by USDA. Until that happens, no physical procurement of hemp seed, planting or production is allowed in Texas, said Calvin Trostle, AgriLife Extension agronomist, Lubbock.
AgriLife Extension is gearing up to help producers work through the regulatory compliance and production processes.
Once the approved TDA rules are released, there will be requirements for an application and licensing process, fees for application and inspections, notification, rules to govern how industrial hemp will be tested in the field and more.
Production and testing will center on the acceptable hemp THC level, which is 0.3% taking into consideration the measurement uncertainty. Anything testing above the limit will be regarded as ‘hot’ or marijuana and could be subject to destruction.
Texas hemp rules timeline
TDA general counsel Tim Kleinschmidt said while the rules and regulations process might be wrapped up by February, it will likely be March before they are ready to begin taking applications for licenses and permits. The statute allows them 60 days to process a license.
“We’re expecting to be able to do it faster; if we can find a way to speed it up, we will,” Kleinschmidt said. “We have been continuously moving on this since the Legislature passed the bill to get in front of it.”
He said they expect to file the Texas rules in early December and then must leave the comment period open for 30 days.
“If all goes well and once we adopt rules, it is 20 days before they are effective, which takes us into February,” he said.
Trostle said this timeline makes it questionable whether anyone will be ready for a March-April planting window that might be needed. And then the question will remain as to where and how the hemp will be processed.
Read the rules
Lashmet suggested producers who hope to grow hemp read up on a few important segments of the rules, including:
– Personal and production information required by the government regarding expected hemp production.
– Sampling and testing for THC level in hemp – the “acceptable hemp THC level,” which allows for a margin of error in that THC test.
– What will happen if a crop does violate that THC level and, if destruction is required, what requirements that will entail.
“It’s not as simple as you might think,” Lashmet said. “There are some provisions under the Controlled Substances Act and Drug Enforcement Agency regulations that will have to be followed for destruction.”
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