New Hampshire is wading into the fight over federal hemp regulation.
Attorney General John Formella urged Congress not to delay the implementation of new hemp reforms that he said would “close a loophole,” signing onto a bipartisan letter to congressional leaders with his counterparts from 34 other states on Wednesday.
President Donald Trump signed a bill last year that is set to change the federal legal definition of hemp and how it’s regulated. Currently, hemp derivatives with less than 0.3% concentration of delta-9 THC — the compound that produces the “high” associated with marijuana — are legal. Come November, only products with a 0.3% total concentration of any THC strains will be legal.
The attorneys general supported the change, saying the current legal definition, adopted in 2018, “led to the proliferation of unregulated intoxicating hemp products throughout the country.”
The U.S. Senate might delay the definition change by a month and potentially overhaul it, as some in the hemp industry push for more comprehensive regulation over outright prohibition, according to Marijuana Moment.
“Congress acted to close a loophole that allowed intoxicating hemp products to enter the marketplace without consistent safety standards or meaningful consumer protections,” Formella said in a statement on Wednesday. “Maintaining this framework will protect consumers, provide certainty for legitimate businesses, and ensure that hemp policy remains focused on lawful, nonintoxicating products.”
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