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EHIA pushes for whole plant recognition and 1% THC threshold

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2 months ago

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The European Industrial Hemp Association has welcomed the European Commission’s proposal to clarify that all parts of the hemp plant fall within the EU’s agricultural scope, while reiterating its call for a harmonized THC threshold of 1%, in line with the ongoing review of the Common Agricultural Policy and the review of the Common Market Organization Regulation (EU) 1308/2013.

In its position paper entitled The hemp sector proposal for the 2028–2032 NPB, the EIHA set out a set of reforms aimed at strengthening legal certainty, competitiveness and sustainability for the European hemp sector. The proposals are expected to be debated in both the Council and Parliament in the coming months.

Recognition of the entire plant
EIHA expressed strong support for the Commission’s plan to expressly recognize all parts of the hemp plant, including leaves and flowers, as agricultural raw materials derived from authorized varieties. The association says this clarification is essential to end persistent legal uncertainty for farmers and processors, avoid divergent interpretations between member states, protect the internal market and provide clearer conditions for investment and innovation in the hemp value chain.

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By formally recognizing the entire plant, the EU would resolve longstanding inconsistencies that have plagued the sector and promote greater regulatory uniformity.

1% THC threshold
Along with whole-plant recognition, EIHA continues to advocate for a harmonized EU-wide THC threshold of 1% for industrial hemp. The current limit of 0.3%, they say, no longer reflects agronomic and climatic reality. Environmental changes can push the crops they combine beyond their limits, exposing growers despite good faith farming practices.

According to EIHA, the 1% threshold would provide legal certainty and reduce climate-related crop losses, expand the EU variety catalog and improve seed availability, support research, breeding and innovation, align EU standards with international benchmarks and maintain a clear line between industrial hemp and narcotic cannabis. Industrial hemp cultivated below 1% THC remains non-intoxicating, and continues to meet consumer protections through EU legislation regulating THC levels in final products.

Francesco Mirizzi, the managing director of the EIHA, stated that the first practical steps must be taken to reach the 1% goal: “The first decisive step to reach the 1% limit is to sensitize the members of the EU Parliament and the national ministers that 0.3% does not make sense from an agronomic point of view and if we compare the EU’s vision with the countries that are more advanced, if we compare it with the new Switzerland. Zealand or South Africa”.

As things begin to move on the hemp side, Francesco says the timelines now begin with the first discussions in the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee, although the challenges are already clear. “Discussions in the Parliamentary Agriculture Committee are expected to start next month, and member states are already debating the Commission’s proposal to allow the whole flower. Some member states are particularly reluctant, but we are confident that we will get there.”

EIHA says it stands ready to work constructively with EU institutions and Member States to ensure that the post-2027 NPB provides long-awaited clarity and competitiveness to the European hemp sector.

For more information:
European Industrial Hemp Association
(email protected)
eiha.org/

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State hemp license applications end April 30

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20 hours ago

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April 19, 2026

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Those wishing to grow and process hemp this year must apply for a license from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) by April 30. Each license is valid until December 31 of the year it is issued. Graduates must reapply annually to continue in the program. An MDA license is required for individuals and businesses.

So far, about 30 people have applied for the 2026 MDA license, compared to 84 applicants last year.

These licenses are for the cultivation and processing of industrial hemp only. The hemp license application is not for adult use or for growing or selling medical cannabis. The application is also not intended for the sale of hemp-derived cannabinoid products. Information on adult use and medical cannabis is available Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) website.

There are applications of industrial hemp MDA website. Along with the online form, first-time applicants and authorized representatives must submit fingerprints and pass a criminal background check.

There are also several updates for the 2026 season. The extraction of cannabinoids from hemp is now regulated by the OCM, meaning that anyone interested in this type of processing will need a separate licence. The rates have also changed. The base cost of a hemp license is now $400, with an additional $250 per growing or processing location. The previous $250 processor license fee has been removed, but a 5% surcharge now applies to upgrades to MDA’s technology systems.

All authorized representatives listed on an application must pass a background check before being licensed. In addition, each lot of hemp must undergo THC testing before harvest, and each official sample collected by the MDA costs $100.

Source: Minnesota Department of Agriculture










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Colorado Marijuana Officials Announce Crackdown On Sales Of Hemp Products Amid ‘Risks To Public Safety’

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20 hours ago

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April 18, 2026

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These issues “pose serious risks to public safety, market integrity, and the tax revenue framework that supports Colorado’s regulated cannabis industry.”

By Christopher Osher, ProPublica and Evan Wyloge, The Denver Gazette

This story was originally published by ProPublica.

Colorado regulators announced Monday that they plan to crack down on companies that sell cheaper, potentially dangerous, illegal hemp products as marijuana.

The state’s Division of Marijuana Enforcement said it had identified “compliance issues” that threaten to dismantle the marijuana industry in the nation’s first legal retail market.

These problems “pose serious risks to public safety, market integrity and the tax revenue framework that supports Colorado’s regulated cannabis industry,” the agency said in an industry newsletter.

An investigation by the Denver Gazette and ProPublica in January reported that despite Colorado being one of the first states to ban the sale of intoxicating hemp products, the legislature and regulators. he failed adopting many of the rules that other states have used to keep hemp products off the medical marijuana shelves.

Creating evaporative and edible liquid distillate from hemp is much cheaper than using marijuana, giving companies a competitive advantage.

But regulators say they are concerned that manufacturers are relying on toxic and dangerous chemicals to convert the non-toxic CBD compound that is predominant in hemp into THC, the psychoactive compound that makes people feel high. Regulators have banned this chemical synthesis, saying they fear chemical residues could remain in the finished product, putting consumers at risk.

Colorado manufacturers have taken advantage of loopholes in the state’s testing and enforcement system to continue using hemp to make products marketed as marijuana, even though doing so is against state law, according to regulatory studies, previous agency bulletins and testimony and lab results contained in several lawsuits.

In 2024, state investigators found that a popular brand of marijuana sold at dispensaries was not only derived from hemp, but also contaminated with methylene chloride, the chemical often used to convert CBD from hemp into THC. Marijuana is banned by Colorado regulators and banned for most uses by the US Environmental Protection Agency because it can cause liver and lung cancer and damage the nervous, immune and reproductive systems.

Ware House, the company that manufactured these vaporizers, relinquished its marijuana license in response to the investigation. Ware Hause’s owner, Thanh Hau, and the company’s lawyer declined to comment.

Congress passed a law last November that bans nearly all hemp products nationwide starting this fall, but it’s unclear how the government will enforce the ban, and hemp growers are reeling.

In December, President Donald Trump issued an executive order telling his aides to work with Congress to develop rules that could allow certain hemp products.

The Colorado Division of Marijuana Enforcement made the announcement Monday newsletter agency officials stated that they “identified and investigated evidence” that marijuana companies are using illegal practices and prohibited methods to manufacture products, instead of relying on marijuana, which is supposed to be monitored for safety.

The Colorado Hemp Association and the Colorado Hemp Education Association did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Beyond safety concerns, the bulletin also noted that some marijuana manufacturers and growers are avoiding marijuana tax obligations through “a pattern of non-compliance” in sales operations they report to the state’s “seed-to-sale” tracking system, which tracks marijuana from the initial planting to the sale of flower, vapes and other products at dispensaries.

Companies misrepresent marijuana sales at nominal prices, in some cases as low as $1 per pound for unprocessed marijuana material, the newsletter said. Those products typically fetch more than $600 per pound on the market, depending on the category of marijuana, according to industry experts.

That fraudulent reporting has stolen millions of dollars in marijuana taxes from state and local governments, industry experts say, though no official estimate is available.

The agency said it will follow emergency rules to address these issues. The bulletin emphasized that suspicious and abnormal transactions and inventories detected by the state will prompt investigations. Companies caught using hemp or other illegal material passed off as marijuana face “immediate product embargo, license suspension or revocation, significant fines and law enforcement,” regulators warned.

The Denver Gazette and ProPublica have tried to track the anomalous transactions, but the Division of Marijuana Enforcement’s sales transaction records, even those that do not identify the companies, are not public.

Marijuana industry representatives met with the division’s regulators late last month to push for a more aggressive response to the agency’s hemp replacement, even though it could affect some companies in the industry. The representatives argued that bad actors are unfairly driving down prices and shifting the tax burden to manufacturers and growers who are trying to comply with the rules. The newsletter was released a couple of weeks after that meeting.

“The division is also considering additional changes to its testing and screening protocols” to detect illegal products and prohibited methods, and may require additional laboratory tests “if needed for products throughout the supply chain,” the agency’s bulletin said.

This article was produced in partnership with ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network Denver Magazine. Sign up for Submissions to receive stories in your inbox every week.

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Nascent medical cannabis industry aims for growth

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2 days ago

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April 18, 2026

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The medicinal cannabis sector is struggling to take root, and another specialist processing plant is set to close. But with current regulations and a new collective industry in mind, New Zealanders are promising to reduce their reliance on imported medicinals.

There was great excitement when medicinal cannabis was legalized and then regulated in 2020, with the hope of growing the domestic sector and serving patients here and abroad. However, since then, several companies have closed their doors, including Greenfern Industries, Cannasouth and, most recently, Helius Therapeutics.

The latter plans to close the East Tāmaki plant, affecting 65 workers. It is one of the few medicinal cannabis factories in the entire nation that has a specialized processing certificate called “Good Manufacturing Practice” (GMP).

Medical Cannabis Council executive director Sally King said that under current rules, most growers did not have such certification, and could only sell raw ingredients, not processed products such as more profitable cannabis capsules.

Read more at the town










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