MJBizMag February 2022 - 30

INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS State by State
Rhode Island
The U.S. Department of Agriculture approved the state's hemp-regulation
plans. Rhode Island will charge hemp producers $250 in application fees and
$2,250 for a two-year license. The state doesn't limit hemp acreage, nor does
it count its total hemp acreage. Rhode Island had 20 licensed hemp growers
at the end of 2020.
Texas
Hemp researchers are working to knock out variables in the inconsistent
and unstable hemp genetics on the market by developing phenotypes that
prevent plants from testing over the federal legal THC threshold of 0.3%. A
partnership between Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Growing Together
Research, an Indiana-based biotechnology firm, aims to provide stable hemp
genetics in any environment. " Together we are developing a hemp line that
will essentially produce zero delta-9 THC, and therefore guarantee lower
than 0.3% THC levels under any growing environment, " Michael Thomsen, an
AgriLife Research plant breeder and the project's leader, said in a statement.
Virginia
State Sen. Thomas Norment Jr. filed a bill that would delete the line in
last year's adult-use legalization law that calls for 30% of the revenue
to be funneled into a cannabis equity investment fund. Social equity
advocates say the bill demonstrates an effort to dismantle provisions in
the legalization bill, against the wishes of the public. Additionally, federal
agriculture authorities gave final approval to the state of Virginia's plan to
regulate hemp production. The state agriculture department is working to
communicate new federal requirements to industrial hemp growers and is
accepting applications for trained sampling and testing laboratories.
Washington state
The government rolled out its own marijuana seed-to-sale traceability
system on Dec. 7 after having relied on the private sector for years. But the
state-run platform's debut was less than smooth. Business owners said bugs
and glitches in the new system cost them lost time and extra employee
hours. Washington is believed to be among the first states to launch such a
system with the aim of simplifying the process. State marijuana companies
now must submit weekly reports via the Cannabis Central Reporting System.
Wisconsin
The state's decision to punt hemp oversight to the feds didn't solve its
testing woes, and regulators worry they won't have enough inspectors who
meet federal requirements. Wisconsin's Department of Agriculture, Trade and
Consumer Protection reported having only two inspectors certified by the
U.S. Department of Agriculture to check hemp THC levels. Wisconsin cited
budget pressures in September, when it became the second state to hand
off oversight to the USDA after establishing its own program. North Carolina
made the same decision a month earlier.
Note: Entries sourced from MJBizDaily, Hemp Industry Daily and other international, national and local news outlets.
These developments occurred before this magazine's publication deadline, so some situations might have changed.
30 February 2022 | MJBizMagazine

MJBizMag February 2022

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