In 2018 when the Agriculture Improvement Act legalized hemp, it set the THC threshold at 0.3 percent. Hemp comes from the same plant as marijuana, so when a lab measures the THC level of a given sample as either over or under 0.3 percent, that’s what decides whether the sample is legal or a Schedule I controlled substance. Labs often get these measurements wrong.
On July 8, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) unveiled the first hemp reference material, calling it “some of the most carefully quantified cannabis ever sold.” A package of three 1.5 gram samples of RM 8210 retails for nearly $800, but it isn’t intended for commercial use. It is, however, intended to be of use to both law enforcement and the regulated cannabis industry.
“RM 8210 can be used so that any lab, contract or within government agencies, can have confidence in their results and those results are comparable across labs,” NIST research biologist Colleen Bryan Sallee told Filter.
Lab testing is utilized by companies that produce regulated cannabis and hemp products, to make sure those products are accurately labeled and free of potentially toxic contaminants. It’s also utilized by law enforcement departments testing unknown substances they’ve seized, which affects whether people can be criminally prosecuted.
In a study with SUNY Albany researchers published in March, NIST found that 93 percent of samples that had been labeled as hemp contained more than 0.3 percent THC. Labs already have definitions for hemp versus marijuana, as well as ways to measure them, but haven’t necessarily been able to check whether their measurements are accurate. For that, it helps to have a reference that they can be sure is already accurate.
The new NIST materials will guide labs in checking for appropriate levels of THC as well as CBD and other elements—including potentially toxic contaminants. For example, in California—the nation’s largest regulated cannabis market—a recent investigation revealed “alarming levels of pesticides in cannabis products available on dispensary shelves across the state.”
“It’s kind of a Wild West.”
One major issue is that when Congress legalized hemp, it left the job half unfinished. The Food and Drug Administration has the authority to regulate hemp products, but still has not issued any hemp regulations.
“It is perfectly lawful under USDA rules [to] grow hemp for fiber, grain and cannabinoid purposes, Geoff Whaling, chair of the National Hemp Association, told Filter. “[But] not lawful to sell them on shelves because the FDA has not issued regulations. That has been the grey area… There are many who believe the farm bill definition allows them to produce and sell those products.”
Confusion about the difference between marijuana and hemp is common in both the law enforcement and commercial arenas. In May, hemp retailers in Tennessee sued local law enforcement for over $1.3 million in damages, alleging their products had been unlawfully seized. The District Attorney’s Office had reportedly told police hemp was the “same damn thing” as marijuana.
Meanwhile, Dan Huson of Oregon-based Rose City Labs said his company once performed testing for a hemp company that then falsified the reports in order to get their product into the market.
“There’s a lot of people in the industry trying to get a product to market that is going to get someone intoxicated, and they’re trying to find a way to do that outside the legal system,” Huson told Filter. “It’s kind of a Wild West.”
Photograph via National Institute of Standards and Technology
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