William G. Roark, a Principal of Lansdale-based Hamburg, Rubin, Mullin, Maxwell & Lupin and co-chairman of the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Medical Marijuana and Hemp Law Committee, has warned about the possible drawbacks from new hemp rules for early farmers, writes Sam Wood for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The new regulations published last week by the state Department of Agriculture will significantly increase testing for marijuana’s non-intoxicating cousin.

According to the new rules, any hemp containing over 0.5 percent THC has to be destroyed.

However, hemp grown in Pennsylvania was only tested for delta-9 THC last year. That same hemp will have to be also be tested for THCA in 2020, a precursor compound that is converted to THC when the heat is applied.

“A lot of growers produced plants where the delta-9 THC level was below 0.3, but the THCA level was well in excess, sometimes 1, 2, or 3 percent,” said Roark.

He added that this will render a lot of plants grown last year unusable, significantly impacting farmers who have invested thousands of dollars in growing hemp and still have full barns and warehouses.

Read more about the issue at The Philadelphia Inquirer by clicking here.

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