The 2018 Farm Bill made a lot of changes to the Agriculture Act of 2014, but the most prominent stipulation would be its move to unlist hemp as a controlled substance. Previously lumped together with marijuana, hemp has been a controversial commodity for years, with most of its supporters working to prove its distinction from marijuana.
Today, hemp is perhaps the fastest growing market in the United States. But for as widely popular and accessible as hemp products might be, individuals in states like West Virginia might want to consider certain regulations before going all out with their use of raw hemp flower.
All parts of the hemp plant are legal, so you should technically be able to smoke the raw flower without having to deal with the police. But there’s a lot more to the public use of raw hemp flower that involves aspects of marijuana laws.
In West Virginia, the use, possession, and sale of marijuana remains a criminal offense punishable by jail time.
The reason why it’s important to consider is this is because of the many different properties that hemp and marijuana share. According to the 2018 Farm Bill, hemp is characterized as being any part of the cannabis plant containing no more than 0.3% THC. If the sample contains more than that, then it’s considered marijuana.
Other than this slight difference in chemistry, there is nothing else that differentiates marijuana from hemp. So at a glance, it’s impossible to tell the two herbs together. The problem now arises when you consider law enforcement agents who need to work around the legality of hemp and the laws banning marijuana.
While you probably won’t get arrested for having raw hemp flower with you, or for using it in public, law enforcers will have no choice but to confiscate your sample and send it in for testing to make sure that it’s not marijuana. And if you want to avoid that, then you might want to consider leaving your raw hemp flower stash safe at home.
From gummies, to power drinks, peanut butter, honey, and even beef jerky, there’s a hemp-infused version of almost every kind of food. Some vendors are even taking it the extra mile by incorporating hemp into water which is becoming rapidly popular among those who want to use CBD in as many different aspects of their lives as possible.
Needless to say, the hemp market for edibles has soared in popularity because of the demand for these versatile products. And because they make the hemp consumption process even more enjoyable for the palate, there are lots of low tolerance users that get their daily CBD dose from edibles.
But the FDA asserts that edibles aren’t exactly legal. Considered a ‘drug’, hemp extract isn’t yet approved as a health supplement. And even then, it would have to go through an entirely different approval process to be considered a food additive.
Even then, it’s easy to see that hemp edibles don’t seem to be too heavily controlled despite the FDA’s regulations. Free to cross borders through average shipping services like USPS, individuals can even purchase hemp infused edibles through gas stations and convenience stores.
No, you can’t unless you have a state-granted license. Hemp is legal, but most states regulate who can grow it for the simple reason that unskilled cultivators are at risk of producing marijuana instead of hemp.
The slightest mistake during the cultivation process can cause the resulting herb to express a higher concentration of THC. And anything more than 0.3% will qualify the cannabis as marijuana, which remains illegal in the state of West Virginia.
Although hemp is a legal agricultural commodity on the federal level, states are careful to be too loose and lenient lest they trample marijuana laws. In West Virginia, it helps to be careful when using hemp flower in public spaces. Opt for edibles or oils instead and keep the raw flower at home to avoid any unwanted inconvenience with the local authorities.
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