Vermont is punting hemp cultivation oversight to the U.S. Department of Agriculture as it sets up a single state agency to oversee cannabis products in advance of adult-use marijuana sales beginning this fall.
Agriculture authorities last week notified farmers that the state’s Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets has withdrawn an oversight plan that was approved by the USDA just last December.
The change means that Vermont’s hemp farmers will need to apply directly to the USDA for the 2023 growing season.
Also this summer, Vermont is joining neighboring New York in regulating finished cannabis products regardless of THC content through a single agency, the new Cannabis Control Board.
That agency will oversee testing and dosing guidelines for all cannabis products.
Before, hemp products such as CBD were regulated by agriculture officials.
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Last year, Vermont planted roughly 1,100 acres of hemp, according to the USDA.
The state becomes at least the sixth to decline running its own program to regulate how hemp is grown.
Vermont’s recreational marijuana market is expected to launch in October.
