Washington, D.C.—The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will delay enforcement, under the interim final rule (IFR), of the requirement for labs to be registered by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and will stop requiring producers to use a DEA-registered reverse distributor or law enforcement, to dispose of non compliant plants, according to a press release. These delays will begin this crop year until either a final rule is published, or on Oct.31, 2021, according to the release.

“Currently there isn’t sufficient capacity in the United States for the testing and disposal of non-compliant hemp plants. USDA has worked hard to enable flexibility in the requirements in the Interim Final Rule for those issues,” said USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Greg Ibach in the release.
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In response to feedback from states and tribes, USDA identified additional options for disposal of hemp plants including: plowing under or composting for use on the same land. Hemp that tests greater than 0.3% THC dry must be disposed of onsite. A list of acceptable disposal methods can be found at theUS Domestic Hemp Production Programwebsite.

“One of the top considerations in making these changes was the desire to provide additional options that minimize, to the extent possible, the resource impact to state and local law enforcement in handling hemp that is out of compliance,” said Ibach in the release. “We look forward to partnering with producers, states, tribes and other stakeholders to deliver regulations that work for everyone.”