Update 2.16.2016: The USDA has on certifying organic hemp, our original story continues below.
Colorado is now home to some of the nation鈥檚 first certified organic cannabis, which comes with a blessing from federal regulators. CBDRx, , has secured a certification to market its products with from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a major coup for the plant鈥檚 enthusiasts.
鈥淎s long as the industrial hemp is grown according to the Farm Bill, it can be certified organic to the USDA National Organic Program,鈥� wrote Penelope Zuck, the agency鈥檚 organic program accreditation manager, in an email correspondence obtained by KUNC.
Catch that? We鈥檙e talking about hemp here, which is still considered cannabis under federal law. The distinction, and USDA鈥檚 decision to certify it, throw the plant into an even larger legal gray area.
鈥淢arijuana may not be certified organic under the USDA organic regulations,鈥� Zuck wrote in October 2015.
Part of the problem is semantics. 鈥淗emp,鈥� 鈥渃annabis,鈥� 鈥渕arijuana,鈥� and the plant鈥檚 countless nicknames are used interchangeably and as shorthand to denote the chemical makeup of different varieties. As it stands now, the Farm Bill makes some varieties of cannabis, colloquially known as 鈥渉emp,鈥� federally recognized and legitimate crops as long as they're below a THC threshold.
But a lack of nuance in the Controlled Substances Act means 鈥渃annabis鈥� -- hemp included -- still remains an illegal drug, with no redeemable value and a high level of abuse. The Farm Bill鈥檚 language even , where lawmakers nodded to the plant鈥檚 status under the CSA but effectively ignored it.
暗黑爆料 organizations and consumers still throw around the term 鈥渕arijuana,鈥� which has its own . Industry types are pushing for the plant to be Linguistics experts are already watching how legalization efforts are .
Claims of 鈥渙rganic鈥� cannabis have gone relatively unchecked in Colorado. In September 2015, Colorado attorney general Cynthia Coffman said she was ready to examine whether cannabis grow facilities' organic claims withstood scrutiny, and matched consumer understanding of what the term 鈥渙rganic鈥� is meant to convey. The issue has become even more pointed as more commercial Colorado growers are .
The latest Farm Bill, signed into law in 2014, gave hemp a legal definition and allowed university researchers and state departments of agriculture , and create registration programs for farmers clamoring to get it into their fields.
鈥淲e at CBDRx decided to challenge the norm and request USDA certification for our hemp. And through some true passionate efforts we succeeded,鈥� said Tim Gordon, a member of the CBDRx research team. The company鈥檚 certification was completed by , a Nebraska-based third party auditing firm.
Hemp is a low-THC variety of cannabis, meaning it won鈥檛 get you high if you smoke or ingest it, but can still contain other chemical compounds with potential medical uses. Its fiber and seeds are marketed to makers of industrial ropes, beauty products, high-end garments, and health foods.
CBDRx鈥檚 organic certification means that while one arm of the federal government, the Drug Enforcement Administration, still with no accepted medical use, another, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is ready to step in and certify the cultivation methods of cannabis are up to organic standards.
