Virginia’s General Assembly has approved new hemp regulations, with revisions to identical bills from the House and Senate by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, addressing the amount of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) permitted for cannabidiol (CBD) and hemp products.
Amendments to HB 2294 and SB 903 were approved on Wednesday, April 12, during the one-day, annual “veto session.” According to marijuana industry consumer organization Virginia State Cannabis, CBD does not produce the “high” that THC can.
“The primary distinction between marijuana and hemp is the quantity of CBD and THC in the plants; if the plant has above 0.3% Tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, it is classified as a marijuana plant,” Virginia State Cannabis said.
That percentage amount took a page from the U.S. Hemp Farming Act, which was signed into law in December 2018, declassifying hemp with a THC content of less than 0.3% as a Schedule I controlled substance. But Virginia NORML Executive Director JM Pedini said that there was a loophole in adopting that amount. This stems from the difference between 0.3% of a plant’s dry weight and 0.3% of a liquid, for example.
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