As of the 2018 US Farm Bill, Industrial Hemp is legal to send across state lines to anywhere in the US. The US Postal Service’s “Acceptance Criteria for Cannabidiol (CBD) Oil and Products Containing CBD” document clearly states that industrial hemp was removed from regulation under the Controlled Substances Act and CAN be transported.
Knowing that is helpful, but two of our packages have been intercepted by USPS workers, under the suspicion of the package containing marijuana, despite having all of the required paperwork inside the package. Oddly, the first of these packages was being sent to a diagnostics lab to analyze cannabinoid levels!
We received notice that the package was intercepted and we were finally contacted via a letter from the USPS postal criminal investigation section. I freaked. Was I going to jail? Were the local cops involved? Luckily, no and no. After I called the phone number provided, leaving a message during business hours and getting a call back 3 days later, the sweet lady on the phone told me not to worry, that she will inform the inspector working on my case that we are a certified industrial hemp farm, and that the paperwork is inside. I gave them permission to open the box. This first intercepted package arrived without fanfare at the laboratory 25 days later.
The second package was a package with samples to a potential buyer. Again, all paperwork was inside, and a company label was on the front. We received a letter from the USPS postal inspectors a few days later. I called on the Monday before Christmas and the same lovely USPS operator answered (awesome, right?). A few days later a consultant for the USPS called me and we had a great conversation. Here’s what I was told:
Industrial hemp CAN be sent via USPS. It’s 100% legal.
Education regarding hemp vs marijuanna is slowly coming, but cannot keep up with the inundation of hemp packages in the postal system.
Some postal workers have ethical/moral hesitation toward the legalization of hemp (maybe they don’t know the difference?) and despite its legality, anything that can possibly be marijuana is automatically intercepted off the line and investigated.
Packages with all paperwork taped to the outside were also intercepted.
This particular inspector was kind and helped Intentional Growth to become an officially vetted Industrial Hemp Farm, which is now allowed to send/receive hemp packages.
Packages with any suspicion will continue to intercepted, but the vetted list will allow the package to be quickly re-posted to the receiver.
The USPS is doing everything it can to make this change in policy smooth and efficient.
Blog post originally published on our farm's website, Intentional Growth.
Comentarios