USDA Approves Hemp Plans for Massachusetts and Five Native Tribes

The U.S. Department of Agriculture last week approved hemp production plans for Massachusetts, and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, Rosebud Sioux Tribe, and the Pala Band of Mission Indians.

It marks the 17th state plan to be approved by the agency; the total of approved tribal plans stands at 25. The USDA indicated in a press release that it “continues to receive and review hemp production plans from states and Indian tribes.”

Under Massachusetts hemp law, the crop can be produced for fiber, seed, hemp seed oil, seed for cultivation, seed meal and seed oil, and CBD – so long as the crop is certified by the state Department of Agricultural Resources. Currently, however, Massachusetts does not allow some CBD products to be sold in the state, including food products, products containing hemp as a dietary supplement, animal feed containing the cannabinoid, CBD flower, or products making medical claims.

Many of those products are also banned federally. Late last month, the Food and Drug Administration sent warnings to two CBD companies over their claims that CBD is efficacious for treating opioid addiction.

Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources spokesperson Katie Gronendyke told Marijuana Moment that since 2018, the state has “licensed more than 100 entities and produced 250 acres of certified industrial hemp.”

The USDA began accepting state hemp plans last year. Those plans provide details on practices and procedures that enable hemp producers to operate according to individual state plans and in compliance with federal laws. Hemp was legalized federally in 2018.

Last month, the agency approved the hemp plans for Florida and Kansas. The approval for Florida’s program reportedly took less than a week.