The Illinois Department of Agriculture and a legislative committee in the state agreed to delay the finalization of new rules governing the production of hemp by 45 days.
Industrial hemp became federally legal with the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, permitting large-scale production of the crop. In 2019, the Illinois General Assembly approved the Industrial Hemp Act, allowing the state’s agriculture department to regulate the industry.
Since then, the department has focused on promulgating regulations consistent with both federal and state hemp laws. In 2021, the federal Department of Agriculture published final regulations for producing hemp, which contained substantial changes that prompted Illinois to change its rules.
During a recent meeting with the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, the department’s division manager for hemp and cannabis David Lakeman stated that the agency remained focused on aligning and implementing the USDA’s regulations on hemp. The proposed regulations have been in development for more than 2 years, with the latest draft containing changes that have caught many in the industry by surprise.
Illinois Hemp Business Association lobbyist Norma Fuentes argued that the latest draft of the regulations threatened to put most hemp businesses out of business. The association represents small, minority-owned and independent hemp businesses.
Fuentes explained that the latest proposed regulations financially burdened businesses, disenfranchised licensees under the social equity program, and sort of fueled another war on drugs. For instance, one provision would prohibit individuals from acquiring a hemp license or holding an administrative position in a licensed hemp firm if they had been convicted of a drug-related felony within the last decade.
Fuentes noted that under the Illinois Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, the state gives preference to license applicants that were disproportionately affected by the war on drugs. While this is the case, Lakeman told the legislative committee that the proposed restriction on licenses needed to conform to federal regulations.
Fuentes added that permitting the department to carry out random and unplanned testing and inspection of hemp facilities would pave the way for criminalization and over-policing of some parties in the industry.
Another provision would also impose administrative penalties or even criminal sanctions on parties that violated some regulations.
The proposed regulations were to undergo final approval on November 12th. The delay may give the agency time to answer questions and hold other meetings with industry stakeholders and representatives. The regulations will be up for consideration at the next scheduled meeting of the legislative committee on December 10th.
Enterprises like Software Effective Solutions Corp. (d/b/a MedCana) (OTC: SFWJ) will be watching the developments in Illinois since such state-level regulations can be copied by other jurisdictions looking to create a system to regulate the hemp industry within its borders.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Software Effective Solutions Corp. (d/b/a MedCana) (OTC: SFWJ) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://cnw.fm/SFWJ
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