Hemp in Tennessee: Where are We?

• Today you can purchase many hemp-derived products which use other cannabinoids rather than delta-9 THC for the purpose of the psychoactive effects.
• The Tennessee General Assembly passed Public Chapter 423 of 2023. This law requires TDA to take into account all forms of hemp-derived cannabinoids (HDCs) in the hemp plant. TDA was instructed by this law to right a series of rules. When TDA published their draft rules there was public push-back from the hemp industry saying the rules were too onerous.
• TFBF submitted comments, based on current policy, in support of TDA’s proposed rules which grants the ability of farmers to grow legal industrial hemp below 0.3% delta-9 THC and considers the other HDCs. TFBF staff are seeking further guidance from members about how to proceed if there are continued policy discussions surrounding the hemp plant.

1. Have hemp derived products been used to create a “legal” variation or marijuana in your community?
2. TFBF policy does not contain any specific policy directly to hemp, should it?
3. Does AFBF policy adequately address hemp regulations? If not, how should it?

The 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp production and products across the United States. Hemp is by definition the cannabis plant but has less than 0.3% of the psychoactive compound delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). THC is the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana which makes some cannabis varieties an illegal recreational drug by both state and federal law. Promoters of the plant believe hemp would provide a great opportunity for farmers to diversify into a new crop.  In 2019, Tennessee Farm Bureau wrote a Policy Development paper providing insight to the conversations and history at that time, you can find this paper by clicking here. Since then, the Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) is required to establish a permit process for the growing of hemp. According to TDA, below are the number of licenses the state has granted to individuals who wanted to grow hemp.

Year	# of Permitted Hemp Growers in TN	# of Permitted Hemp Acres in TN
2019	3957	51,000 acres
2020	1918	15,721 acres
2021	1031	5,698 acres
2022	377	3,607 acres
2023	320	1,122 acres

Fast forward to 2024 and many things have changed in the landscape of hemp and hemp regulation as both the state and federal government decide how to regulate the product. By federal definition, industrial hemp is high in fiber and low in active THC. Further guidance is provided by the United States Department of Agriculture in 7 CFR 990, which is the federal regulation for the production of hemp in the United States.

There are many variations of hemp-derived cannabinoids (HDCs) which can lead to the same psychoactive effects of delta-9 THC; predominantly delta-8 THC, delta-10 THC and THC acid (THCa). Many states set the legal limit based on only delta-9 THC above 0.3%, which does not include the other forms of HDCs. Today, you can purchase many hemp-derived products which use the other HDCs rather than delta-9 THC for the purpose of the psychoactive effects.

Tennessee was in a similar posture, however, the Tennessee General Assembly passed Public Chapter 423 of 2023. This law requires TDA to take into account all forms of hemp-derived cannabinoids (HDCs) in the hemp plant. TDA was instructed by the 113th General Assembly to write the Proposed Rules by Public Chapter 423. When TDA published their draft rules (proposed rule numbers 0080-04-09, 0080-04-13, 0080-06-28, 0080-10-01, 0080-10-02, 0080-10-03), there was public push-back from the hemp industry saying the rules were too onerous.

Considering current Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation (TFBF) policy, TFBF submitted comments in support of TDA’s proposed rule which grants the ability of farmers to grow legal industrial hemp is below 0.3% delta-9 THC and considers the other HDCs. TFBF supports the rights of farmers to grow legal products which consumers demand. However, the policy clearly opposes the recreational use of marijuana and hemp derived products containing multiple variations of THC provides the same psychoactive effects. Thus, leading to the availability of legalized “marijuana” in the marketplace.

The rules from TDA will be completed in summer/fall of 2024, and TFBF will continue to monitor the situation. TFBF staff are seeking further guidance from members about how to proceed if there are continued policy discussions surrounding the hemp plant.

Tennessee Farm Bureau
Improving Family Farm Income (Partial)
Direct, niche and other marketing opportunities should be pursued so producers can receive a greater share of the retail price of their production

Alcohol and Drug Abuse (Partial)
We oppose the legalization of recreational marijuana.

Health and Medical (Partial)
We oppose the recreational use of marijuana and believe there must be safeguards to avoid allowing medical cannabis to be an avenue for recreational use.

American Farm Bureau
204 / Industrial Hemp

We support:

1.1. The production, processing, commercialization and utilization of hemp and that it be regulated by USDA rather than the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA);

1.2. Regulation of the hemp industry that is in line with other agricultural commodities and standards;

1.3. The creation of industry standards by the hemp industry to ensure product quality;

1.4. Legislation to amend the Controlled Substances Act to exclude hemp;

1.5. Retesting if a plot/crop comes back above the allowable THC “hot”;

1.6. The proper government entities regulating the safety, quality and standardization of hemp products that are sold to consumers;

1.7. Research and development for labeling fungicides, herbicides and insecticides to be used for hemp;

1.8 Federal and state funding for all required regulatory oversight;

1.9. Affording hemp extracts, concentrates and byproducts derived from legal hemp the same legal status and protections as the hemp they originated from;

1.10. The development and approval of alternative uses and/or disposal methods for a “hot crop” other than DEA disposal rules, including but not limited to fiber, textiles, animal bedding, fuel and other non-consumable uses;

1.11. Adjustments that would allow for hemp with up to 1% THC to be legal;

1.12. A permanent USDA-Risk Management Agency crop insurance policy specific for hemp;

1.13. Nationwide THC sampling protocols;

1.14.Research on the safe use of hemp as a feed ingredient for poultry and livestock;

1.15. Testing of plant, if necessary, including flower, leaf and stem from parts of the entire plant and in equal proportion (not only from the top third of the plant and only the flower);

1.16. Testing hemp within 45 days before harvest;

1.17. Any accredited lab being able to test hemp for CBD or THC content;

1.18. The exemption of hemp grown explicitly for non-human consumption (i.e., grain, fiber, seed, oil, ethanol) from DEA-approved laboratory testing for legal limits of CBD/THC;

1.19. A hemp crop tested and passed within legal limits being treated like any other product grown on the farm and that it should be allowed to be sold as such (at farm stores, farm stands, and farmers markets with COA as documentation of proof);

1.20. A certification system to help farmers ensure the quality of their seed or planting stock;

1.21. The national standardization of rules for hemp production;

1.22. Uniform standards that allow the transport and sale of CBD, hemp products and seed via interstate commerce. Growers, handlers, processors and those associated with bringing hemp to the marketplace should be held to the same transportation standards as other agricultural commodities;

1.23. Regulation and taxation of any hemp-derived products that concentrate or synthesize intoxicating compounds;

1.24. Testing, control and enforcement for all psychoactive substances and products made from cannabinoids in hemp except for the testing, control and enforcement of the 0.3% THC allowable in hemp shall take place after the hemp has left the farm where it is produced and has entered processing channels; and

1.25. Legislation that delineates industrial hemp grain and fiber from cannabinoid floral hemp by definition and regulation, including removing background checks and mandatory THC testing for industrial hemp grown for grain, fiber or industrial seed production.