Alabama to delay hemp applications, citing federal hold up

Alabama has postponed for two weeks the opening of the application period for its 2020 hemp program as it awaits federal interim regulations.

The registration period for growers, processors and universities will now run for four weeks, from Oct. 7 to Nov. 1, the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries said.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has said its rules for growing hemp have been delayed because of complications setting nationwide THC testing rules, among other things.

Alabama’s hemp program was launched in 2019 after last year’s Farm Bill declassified hemp as a Schedule 1 drug and deemed the crop as a commodity.