The Kentucky House passed a bill Tuesday to expand options for hemp testing while continuing to meet federal requirements for the state’s hemp program.
House Bill 236 sponsor Representative Matthew Koch (R-Paris) said the bill would allow the state to expand the number of qualified laboratories authorized to test the state’s hemp crop for THC, a psychoactive component found in hemp and other types of cannabis. State officials indicate THC testing of the state’s hemp crop is now handled by the University of Kentucky, which Koch said experienced a testing backlog over the past year.
Kentucky law limits the THC content of its hemp crop to 0.3 percent — the same limit imposed by the 2018 U.S. Farm Bill which also removed hemp from the list of federally controlled substances.
State Representative Richard Heath (R-Mayfield) said there is some discussion at the federal level about raising the legal THC limit of hemp from 0.3 percent to 1 percent. However, he added, “that is a federal issue”.
House Bill 236 would also clarify the 0.3 percent limit on THC content also applies to all hemp transported into or out of the commonwealth. However, legislators noted licensed hemp processors could legally transport “material” with a higher THC content within the state under the bill, as long as that material is taken directly from one licensed processing location to another.
The bill passed the state House by a 70-17 vote and now goes to the Senate.
