7 CFR 990.1 – Meaning of terms
Words used in this subpart in the singular form shall be deemed to impart the plural, and vice versa, as the case may demand. For the purposes of provisions and regulations of this part, unless the context otherwise requires, the following terms shall be construed, respectively, to mean:
Acceptable hemp THC level. When a laboratory tests a sample, it must report the total delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol content concentration level on a dry weight basis and the measurement of uncertainty. The acceptable hemp THC level for the purpose of compliance with the requirements of State or Tribal hemp plans or the USDA hemp plan is when the application of the measurement of uncertainty to the reported total delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol content concentration level on a dry weight basis produces a distribution or range that includes 0.3 percent or less. For example, if the reported total delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol content concentration level on a dry weight basis is 0.35 percent and the measurement of uncertainty is ±0.06 percent, the measured total delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol content concentration level on a dry weight basis for this sample ranges from 0.29 percent to 0.41 percent. Because 0.3 percent is within the distribution or range, the sample is within the acceptable hemp THC level for the purpose of plan compliance. This definition of “acceptable hemp THC level” affects neither the statutory definition of hemp, 7 U.S.C. § 1639o(1), in the 2018 Farm Bill nor the definition of “marihuana,” 21 U.S.C. § 802(16), in the CSA.
Act. Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946.
Agricultural Marketing Service or AMS. The Agricultural Marketing Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Applicant. (1) A State or Indian Tribe that has submitted a State or Tribal hemp production plan to USDA for approval under this part; or
(2) A producer in a State or territory of an Indian Tribe that is not subject to a State or Tribal hemp production plan and who has submitted an application to USDA for a license under the USDA hemp production plan under this part.
Audit. An official inspection of an individual’s or organization’s accounts and paperwork or documentation by an independent body. An audit also refers to a compliance audit of States and Indian Tribes with approved hemp production plans by USDA to determine compliance with their approved plan, the regulations in this part, and the Act. For this part, audit relates to documentation related to authorities under the 2018 Farm Bill to produce hemp.
Cannabis. A genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae of which Cannabis sativa is a species, and Cannabis indica and Cannabis ruderalis are subspecies thereof. Cannabis refers to any form of the plant in which the total delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration on a dry weight basis has not yet been determined.
Controlled Substances Act (CSA). The Controlled Substances Act as codified in 21 U.S.C. § 801 et seq.
Conviction. Means any plea of guilty or nolo contendere, or any finding of guilt, except when the finding of guilt is subsequently overturned on appeal, pardoned, or expunged. For purposes of this part, a conviction is expunged when the conviction is removed from the individual’s criminal history record and there are no legal disabilities or restrictions associated with the expunged conviction, other than the fact that the conviction may be used for sentencing purposes for subsequent convictions. In addition, where an individual is allowed to withdraw an original plea of guilty or nolo contendere and enter a plea of not guilty and the case is subsequently dismissed, the individual is no longer considered to have a conviction for purposes of this part.
Corrective action plan. A plan proposed by a licensed hemp producer and approved by the governing entity for correcting a negligent violation or non-compliance with the applicable State, Tribal, or USDA hemp production plan, its terms, the applicable law(s), and/or this part. Also, a plan proposed by a State or Tribal government for correcting violations or non-compliances with USDA-approved State or Tribal hemp programs.
Criminal history report. The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Identity History Summary.
Culpable mental state greater than negligence. To act intentionally, knowingly, willfully, or recklessly.
Decarboxylated. The completion of the chemical reaction that converts THC-acid (THCA) into delta-9 THC, the intoxicating component of cannabis. The decarboxylated value is also calculated using a molecular mass conversion ratio that sums delta-9 THC and eighty-seven and seven tenths (87.7) percent of THC-acid1.
Decarboxylation. The removal or elimination of carboxyl group from a molecule or organic compound.
Disposal. An activity that transitions the non-compliant product into a non-retrievable or non-ingestible form. Such activities include plowing, tilling, or disking plant material into the soil; mulching, composting, chopping, or bush mowing plant material into green manure; burning plant material; burying plant material into the earth and covering with soil.
Delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol or THC. Delta-9 THC is the primary psychoactive component of cannabis. For the purposes of this part, delta-9 THC and THC are interchangeable.
Drug Enforcement Administration or DEA. The United States Drug Enforcement Administration.
Dry weight basis. The ratio of the amount of moisture in a sample to the amount of dry solid in a sample. A basis for expressing the percentage of a chemical in a substance after removing the moisture from the substance. Percentage of THC on a dry weight basis means the percentage of THC, by weight, in a cannabis item (plant, extract, or other derivative), after excluding moisture from the item.
Entity. A corporation, joint stock company, association, limited partnership, limited liability partnership, limited liability company, irrevocable trust, estate, charitable organization, or other similar organization, including any such organization participating in the hemp production as a partner in a general partnership, a participant in a joint venture, or a participant in a similar organization.
Farm Service Agency or FSA. An agency of the United States Department of Agriculture.
Gas chromatography or GC. A type of chromatography in analytical chemistry used to separate, identify, and quantify each component in a mixture. GC relies on heat for separating and analyzing compounds that can be vaporized without decomposition.
Geospatial location. A location designated through a global system of navigational satellites used to determine the precise ground position of a place or object.
Handle. To harvest or store hemp plants or hemp plant parts prior to the delivery of such plants or plant parts for further processing. “Handle” also includes the disposal of cannabis plants that are not hemp for purposes of chemical analysis and disposal of such plants.
Hemp. The plant species Cannabis sativa L. and any part of that plant, including the seeds thereof and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers, whether growing or not, with a total delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis.
Immature plants. A cannabis plant that is not flowering.
Indian Tribe or Tribe. As defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. § 5304).
Information sharing system. The database that allows USDA to share information collected under State, Tribal, and USDA plans with Federal, State, Tribal, and local law enforcement.
Key participants. A sole proprietor, a partner in partnership, or a person with executive managerial control in a corporation. A person with executive managerial control includes persons such as a chief executive officer, chief operating officer, and chief financial officer. This definition does not include non-executive managers such as farm, field, or shift managers. This definition also does not include a member of the leadership of a Tribal government who is acting in their capacity as a Tribal leader except when that member exercises executive managerial control over hemp production.
Law enforcement agency. Any Federal, State, Tribal, or local law enforcement agency.
Liquid chromatography or LC. A type of chromatography technique in analytical chemistry used to separate, identify, and quantify each component in a mixture. LC relies on pumps to pass a pressurized liquid solvent containing the sample mixture through a column filled with a solid absorbent material to separate and analyze compounds.
Lot. A contiguous area in a field, greenhouse, or indoor growing structure containing the same variety or strain of cannabis throughout the area. The term lot also means the terms “farm,” “tract,” “field,” and “subfield” as these are terms used by FSA in 7 CFR 718.2 to define lot.
Marijuana. Or “marihuana”, as defined in the CSA, means all parts of the plant Cannabis sativa L., whether growing or not; the seeds thereof; the resin extracted from any part of such plant; and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of such plant, its seeds or resin. The term “marihuana” does not include hemp, as defined in section 297A of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946, and does not include the mature stalks of such plant, fiber produced from such stalks, oil or cake made from the seeds of such plant, any other compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of such mature stalks (except the resin extracted therefrom), fiber, oil, or cake, or the sterilized seed of such plant which is incapable of germination (7 U.S.C. § 1639o). “Marihuana” means all cannabis that tests as having a THC concentration level of higher than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis.
Measurement of Uncertainty (MU). The parameter, associated with the result of a measurement, that characterizes the dispersion of the values that could reasonably be attributed to the particular quantity subject to measurement.
Negligence. Failure to exercise the level of care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in complying with the regulations set forth under this part.
Phytocannabinoid. Cannabinoid chemical compounds found in the cannabis plant, two of which are delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-9 THC) and cannabidiol (CBD).
Plan. A set of criteria or regulations under which a State or Tribal government, or USDA, monitors and regulates the production of hemp.
Post-decarboxylation. In the context of testing methodologies for THC concentration levels in hemp, means a value determined after the process of decarboxylation that determines the potential total delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol content derived from the sum of the THC and THCA content and reported on a dry weight basis. The post-decarboxylation value of THC can be calculated by using a chromatograph technique using heat, gas chromatography, through which THCA is converted from its acid form to its neutral form, THC. Thus, this test calculates the total potential THC in a given sample. The post-decarboxylation value of THC can also be calculated by using a liquid chromatograph technique, which keeps the THCA intact. This technique requires the use of the following conversion: [Total THC = (0.877 x THCA) + THC] which calculates the potential total THC in a given sample. See the definition for decarboxylation.
Produce. To grow hemp plants for market, or for cultivation for market, in the United States.
Producer. A producer as defined in 7 CFR 718.2 specifically of hemp.
Remediation. Remediation refers to the process of rendering non-compliant cannabis, compliant. Remediation can occur by removing and destroying flower material, while retaining stalk, stems, leaf material, and seeds. Remediation can also occur by shredding the entire plant into a biomass like material, then re-testing the shredded biomass material for compliance.
Reverse distributor. A person who is registered with the DEA in accordance with 21 CFR 1317.15 to dispose of marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act.
Secretary. The Secretary of Agriculture of the United States Department of Agriculture.
State. Any one of the fifty States of the United States of America, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any other territory or possession of the United States.
State department of agriculture. The agency, commission, or department of a State government responsible for agriculture in the State.
Territory of the Indian Tribe. (1) All land within the limits of any Indian reservation under the jurisdiction of the United States Government, notwithstanding the issuance of any patent, including rights-of-way running through the reservation;
(2) All dependent Indian communities within the borders of the United States whether within the original or subsequently acquired territory thereof, and whether within or without the limits of a State;
(3) All Indian allotments, the Indian titles to which have not been extinguished, including rights-of-way running through the same; and
(4) Any lands title to which is either held in trust by the United States for the benefit of any Indian Tribe or individual or held by any Indian Tribe or individual subject to restriction by the United States against alienation and over which an Indian Tribe exercises jurisdiction.
Total THC. Total THC is the value determined after the process of decarboxylation, or the application of a conversion factor if the testing methodology does not include decarboxylation, that expresses the potential total delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol content derived from the sum of the THC and THCA content and reported on a dry weight basis. This post-decarboxylation value of THC can be calculated by using a chromatograph technique using heat, such as gas chromatography, through which THCA is converted from its acid form to its neutral form, THC. Thus, this test calculates the total potential THC in a given sample. The total THC can also be calculated by using a liquid chromatograph technique, which keeps the THCA intact. This technique requires the use of the following conversion: [Total THC = (0.877 x THCA) + THC] which calculates the potential total THC in a given sample.
Tribal government. The governing body of an Indian Tribe.
USDA licensee. A person, partnership, or corporation licensed under the USDA plan to grow hemp under the terms established in this part and who produces hemp.
- delta-9 THC) + (0.877 * THCA [↩]