United States: Minnesota raises THC levels for hemp to 1 %

It's a «huge step forward» for CBD hemp growers in Minnesota. From now on, they will be able to grow plants containing up to 1 % of THC, whereas the US federal state sets a ceiling of 0.3 %. And while there's only a 0.7 % difference between the two, it's a very significant one. In cannabis, CBD and THC are linked. There is a ratio of 1 to 30 between the two molecules. With 0.3 % of THC, we can expect 10 % of CBD. With 1 %, the rate explodes, and can rise to 30 % of cannabidiol.

«This is a huge step forward. We're glad the federal government let us make this change. It will allow Minnesota hemp growers to succeed in this fledgling industry.», says a Minnesota Department of Agriculture executive in a statement. press release.

This new THC limit is included in the Minnesota revised hemp plan. And this document goes a long way towards relaxing other standards in the agricultural state of midwest. Another notable change is that THC testing of plants can now take place one month before harvest. Previously, the deadline was two weeks before harvest. Finally, a hemp grower cannot be charged with an intentional THC violation more than once a year. Previously, the authorities could charge as many times as there were offences.

Relaxed rules for a «fledgling» industry»

This revised hemp plan clearly aims to set (much) more flexible standards. Why? To attract farmers to the cultivation of hemp, which may previously have been discouraged by its restrictive standards, linked to the botanical proximity between industrial hemp and cannabis. Both are species of Cannabis Sativa L. In fact, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency had trouble differentiating between hemp and cannabis.

Today, hemp in Minnesota is barely in its teens. According to statistics from the state Department of Agriculture, 461 hemp growers have production licenses. All their farms combined represent barely 2,500 hectares. A tiny number compared to the 90 million hectares of corn, one of the main agricultural resources of the «State of 1000 lakes».

The American hemp and CBD industry is «in its infancy» since it is authorized only since 2018. It was on this date that the ex-president Donald Trump signs Farm bill, legalizing hemp at federal level. Since then, many hemp growers have taken up the experiment. Unfortunately, there was a bottleneck. Too many growers jumped in at once. As a result, the area under hemp fell from 54,000 hectares in 2020 to 18,000 the following year.