November 21, 2019 3:30 a.m.
Oregon’s U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley have requested that the U.S. Department of Agriculture make several changes as it develops its final rule for the nation’s Domestic Hemp Production Program.
In a letter to USDA Secretary Sonny Purdue, the Senators said they welcomed the interim rule recently released by the agency as what they called “a necessary step to establish a domestic federal hemp production program”, but also cited concerns about unintended and potentially harmful effects the rule would have on hemp production, both in Oregon and across the country.
A release from Wyden and Merkley said that based on feedback from Oregon farmers, researchers, and regulators, they asked that the USDA:
*Follow the Oregon model and extend the timeline for testing before harvest to a more realistic timeframe.
*Remove the requirement that testing labs must be Drug Enforcement Administration registered, as hemp is a legal commodity and not subject to the DEA.
*Change allowed testing methods for delta-9 THC.
*Follow Oregon’s pre-harvest sampling protocol.
*Set a negligence threshold greater than 1% for THC content.
A copy of the full letter can be found here:  https://www.wyden.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/112019%20Wyden%20Merkley%20USDA%20Hemp%20Rule%20Feedback.pdf