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Committee weighs aligning Vermont's hemp law with pending federal rule, members warn of effect on small processors
Summary
Legislative counsel told the committee that a pending federal change shifting the hemp test to a 0.4 milligram total-THC-per-product limit could reclassify many current hemp products as cannabis, raising concerns about fees, retail access and banking for small Vermont processors; members discussed using board rulemaking or a policy to protect small businesses.
A legislative committee on agriculture reviewed draft language for Senate Bill 323 that would align Vermont's statutory definition of hemp with a pending federal definition, prompting lawmakers to seek fixes to protect small processors and CBD sellers.
Bradley Showman of the Office Legislative Council told the panel the federal test currently uses a delta-9 THC percentage (0.3 percent by weight) but a pending federal rule would instead set a fixed total-THC limit of 0.4 milligrams per finished product. "If a product has more than 0.4 milligrams," Showman said, "then that product is cannabis and it is unlawful in interstate commerce." He cautioned that shift could exclude many products now sold as hemp.
The change, Showman said, could force products that small, in-state processors now…
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