Illinois Department of Agriculture Delays New Hemp Regulations
The Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) is delaying the finalization of new regulations concerning hemp production. The delay, a result of protests by small, independent hemp farmers, has been caused by the unexpected changes to what were supposed to be the ‘final’ proposed Illinois regulations. These changes, not presented to the public earlier, have sparked negative reactions.
The unpopular new regulations add the following.
- Allow IDOA unannounced inspection and testing of hemp crops.
- Not allow anyone who was convicted of a drug-related felony within the last 10 years to obtain a hemp license or hold a company’s management position.
- Administrative penalties and criminal referrals to law enforcement agencies for rule violations.
Norma Fuentes, an Illinois Hemp Business Association lobbyist, said the previous rules “…kind of fueled a second War on Drugs, disenfranchised social equity licenses and also financially burdened local businesses through some of the testing that they require.”
She believes the proposed rules will cause even more hardship in the hemp industry. For example, the first proposal required five days’ notice of hemp facility inspections, and the new rules allow unannounced inspections.
The story of the Illinois rulemaking is a classic case of government bureaucracy, with multiple changes made at the federal level concerning hemp production impacting state regulations. The Capital News Illinois summarized the events of the last few years.
The Federal government passed the 2018 Farm Bill, which defined hemp as cannabis plants with less than 0.3% THC and removed it from the controlled substances list. This led to the growth of a new industry of hemp production and enabled farmers to qualify for crop insurance and farm loans.
In 2019, the Illinois General Assembly passed the Industrial Hemp Act. This law gave the Illinois Department of Agriculture the authority to license growers and regulate the state industry for compliance with federal law. The state agency established rules to meet state and federal hemp laws.
Then, late in 2019, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) published temporary federal rules detailing how states were expected to adhere to the federal law and required states to develop and submit hemp enforcement plans to the federal agency. Illinois sent its already-established rules, and the USDA officially approved them in October 2020.
In January 2021, the USDA issued its final rules for hemp production. The rules were very different from the temporary rules. That meant Illinois had to revise and submit a new hemp plan to the USDA for approval, delivered in April 2022. The USDA-approved revised plan was submitted to the Illinois state rule makers in 2022. In 2024, two years later, the Illinois Department of Agriculture proposed the recent controversial new rules.
The Illinois Department of Agriculture is delaying the final approval of the new regulations for 45 days to allow for more discussion and questions. They will be considered at JCAR’s (Joint Committee on Administrative Rules) December 10, 2024 meeting.
This is a good example of how difficult government bodies have made it for hemp farmers and CBD manufacturers to thrive in their industry. The frequent changes to laws and regulations suppress entrepreneurship and lead to customers having more difficulty obtaining the products they want and need.
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