releases: https://www.wyden.senate.gov//news/press-releases/wyden-merkley-to-dea-interim-rule-on-hemp-contradicts-congressional-intent-by-criminalizing-intermediate-steps-in-hemp-processing
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| url | title | date | year | month | party | chamber | state | member_name | bioguide_id | domain | scraper | source | date_source | text | has_text | collected_at | updated_at |
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| https://www.wyden.senate.gov//news/press-releases/wyden-merkley-to-dea-interim-rule-on-hemp-contradicts-congressional-intent-by-criminalizing-intermediate-steps-in-hemp-processing | Wyden, Merkley to DEA: Interim Rule on Hemp Contradicts Congressional Intent by Criminalizing Intermediate Steps in Hemp Processing | 2020-10-23 | 2020 | 2020-10 | Democrat | House | OR | Ron Wyden | W000779 | www.wyden.senate.gov | legacy | October 23, 2020 Wyden, Merkley to DEA: Interim Rule on Hemp Contradicts Congressional Intent by Criminalizing Intermediate Steps in Hemp Processing Oregon senators say DEA is hurting farmers and that the agency no longer has authority to regulate hemp production Washington, D.C. U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkleytodayexpressed strong objections tothe U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)'sunilateral and uncalled for actions onhempthat runcountertothe 2018 Farm Bill and congressional intentbytreating this legal cropas a Schedule I controlled substancewheneverits THC content exceeds 0.3%. Authors of the provision in the 2018 Farm Bill to legalize hemp, Wyden and Merkleysaidin their letter to the DEA that the agency's Interim Final Rule (IFR)on hemphurts hemp farmers in Oregon and nationwide by seriously misunderstanding hemp processing. The Oregon senators noted thatin the intermediate stages of hemp processing, hemp extracts can temporarily exceed the 0.3% THC threshold that Congress used to define hemp, even though the plant and the final product both meet the threshold. In effect, the IFR criminalizes the intermediate steps of hemp processing, which is wholly inconsistent with Congress's clearly stated purpose and the text of the 2018 Farm Bill,the senators wrote. In our view, the IFR rewrites the 2018 Farm Bill contrary to Congressional intent. The senators also noted that the 2018 Farm Billformally removed hemp, including its seeds and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, whether growing or not, from the purview of the DEA. This places the sole authority to promulgate federal regulations and guidelines that relate to the production of hemp, which includes its derivatives, extracts and cannabinoids, with the Secretary of Agriculture. Acopy of the letter can be found here. ### Print Email Tweet Previous Article | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |