This is a major step forward for Minnesota’s hemp growers: through its revised hemp production plan, the state has just granted them the right to grow hemp with a THC content higher than the legal limit originally set. Minnesota growers can now produce plants with a THC content of up to 1%, compared to 0.3% previously and everywhere else in the U.S.
Why is this good news? What prompted this relaxation of the regulations?
Why is allowing hemp with 1% THC good news?
There is indeed a benefit to increasing the THC content of hemp plants.
In cannabis, THC and CBDlevels are proportional, with a ratio of 1 to 30. This means that a plant containing more THC will also contain more CBD. For example, with hemp containing 0.3% THC, you can obtain about 10% CBD. Whereas with hemp containing 1% THC, a producer can extract 30% CBD—that is, 30 times more than from a plant with 0.3% THC.
By raising the THC limit for hemp to 1%, the state of Minnesota is offering producers a great opportunity to carve out a niche in the highly sought-after CBD market.
Hemp growers will also be able to expand their businesses with fewer restrictions, as the revised plan provides for additional relief measures, including extended deadlines for conducting THC tests on plants, as well as a single annual penalty in the event of a conviction for intentional violation of the THC limit.
Less Strict Regulations to Support the Growing Hemp Industry in the U.S.
In the U.S., the cultivation of hemp and CBD has only been legal at the federal level since the Farm Bill, signed in 2018 by Donald Trump during his presidency. This change sparked enthusiasm among many producers, but it proved counterproductive, as the area of hemp fields decreased by two-thirds between 2020 and 2021.
The highly restrictive regulations governing hemp cultivation likely discouraged farmers, who chose to withdraw from the industry.
In fact, the distinction between industrial hemp and cannabis—two species very closely related to Cannabis sativa L.— was so complicated that even federal agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) got it wrong. Shipments of hemp flowers weighing several metric tons were reportedly seized by mistake by the DEA, which believed them to be cannabis. Furthermore, many hemp growers have been overwhelmed by the numerous contradictions between federal laws legalizing hemp and certain state laws that still prohibit the sale and even the transportation of this type of product.
The complexity of the legislation ultimately proved too much for the farmers. This was one of the factors that led to the revision of the regulations and standards.
To date, the state of Minnesota reportedly has just 461 hemp growers with production licenses, representing only 2,500 hectares of cultivated land, compared to 90 million hectares devoted to corn cultivation, Minnesota’s primary agricultural crop.
