As in-home pot edibles increase, they sicken more children; more than half of those in a study were 2 or 3 years old

Marijuana edibles are displayed at a dispensary.
(Photo by Steve Marcus, Las Vegas Sun)

As more states have legalized marijuana, the presence of pot edibles in U.S. homes has led to more accidental poisonings. "The number of young kids, especially toddlers, who accidentally ate marijuana-laced treats rose sharply over five years as pot became legal in more places in the U.S., according to a journal Pediatrics study," reports Jonel Aleccia of The Associated Press. "More than 7,000 confirmed cases of kids younger than 6 eating marijuana edibles were reported to the nation’s poison-control centers between 2017 and 2021, climbing from about 200 to more than 3,000 per year. Nearly a quarter of the children wound up hospitalized, some seriously ill."

Lead researcher Dr. Marit Tweet, a medical toxicologist at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, told Aleccia, "When it’s in a candy form or cookies, people don’t think of it in the same way as household chemicals or other things a child could get into. But people should really be thinking of it as a medication.” Tweet noted that the study could only include reported cases, so many less serious cases may have gone unreported.

"Tweet called for greater vigilance by parents and for more laws like those adopted by several states to make pot products — often packaged to look like kids’ candies and snacks — less appealing and accessible to children," Aleccia reports.

The study "analyzed reports to the National Poison Data System, which includes the nation’s 55 regional poison control centers. More than half of the children were toddlers, ages 2 and 3, the study showed. More than 90% got the edibles at home," Aleccia reports. "Of more than 7,000 reports, researchers were able to track the outcomes of nearly 5,000 cases. They found that nearly 600 kids, or about 8%, were admitted to critical care units, most often with depressed breathing or even coma. Nearly 15% were admitted to non-critical care units and more than a third were seen in emergency rooms. Drowsiness, breathing problems, fast heart rate and vomiting were the most common symptoms."

Dr. Brian Schultz, a pediatric emergency physician at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore who previously worked at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, told Aleccia that he and his colleagues treated kids who had eaten pot edibles 'almost on a daily basis'."

Western Mass. town is getting its 7th cannabis dispensary, so a Boston Globe reporter smokes through 'em all

Great Barrington, Massachusetts, population 7,000, is about to open its seventh marijuana dispensary. Why? Boston Globe reporter Billy Baker spent a day "smoking his way through town" to answer the question, "How did this happen?"

Theory Wellness was Baker's first stop. "The lot at Theory was packed with plates from New York and Connecticut, each just down the road from this southwest corner of Massachusetts," Baker writes. "Neither neighbor has recreational stores (yet), and that is the central plot line here — a geographic opportunity, coupled with voters who have resisted restrictions and essentially said, 'Let ‘em duke it out,' that has turned this small town into the pot capital of America."

Illustration by Greg Klee, Adobe Stock

There are other stops on the main federal highway in the Berkshires: "All of them are on a single road, Route 7, though there are calls (namely from me) to change its name to Route 420," Baker writes. After his stop at Theory where the budtender "rattled on for a few moments about the strand’s progeny like a stanky sommelier," Baker stopped into The Pass where joints were "actually called joints."

Next up, a visit to Rebelle, "the third recreational dispensary to open. I don’t really remember much from that, and soon my driver parked the car downtown as it was decided I should just walk to the next three alone. Which was cool. Totally cool. All good. Because Great Barrington is like super cute," Baker writes. Another shop, Farnsworth, "is owned by three siblings who are descendants of Philo Farnsworth, the 20th-century inventor who did pioneering work in the development of radio and television."

Great Barrington
(Wikipedia map)

Finally, after all the shopping and smoking and "trying to explain the point of my pointless excursion, which in that moment could be summarized with a single word: Why? Why did this cute little town allow this to happen?" Baker asks/ "Maybe the whole point is to suck up as much money as they can before New York and Connecticut open their dispensaries and a huge chunk of that cash disappears."

Baker goes on, "As I was now proving, too much weed can make you anxious and depressed, and I was at my saddest as I walked back across town to the most ridiculous sight: an actual castle with an oversized 'Dispensary' sign on the lawn. . . and I happily resisted an employee who invited me to sit on a throne, next to a suit of armor, and take a selfie."

Legal weed in Calif. hasn't been economic boon expected, and has corrupted some local officials, L.A. Times finds

A dispensary advertisement in California.
(Photo by Mel Melcon, Los Angeles Times) 

Hoping for increases in tax revenue and an economic kickstart, some rural California communities quickly embraced the legal cannabis boom after a 2018 state law allowed them to decide whether weed businesses could sell or grow pot inside their borders. But a Los Angeles Times investigation found that the state's decentralized system has set the stage for rampant bribery and corruption of local officials. 

Over half of California's cities and counties don't allow any type of recreational marijuana sales or farming, but the newspaper found that those that do allow sales generally issue a limited number of business licenses, "creating fierce competition among entrepreneurs looking to cash in." The local officials, who have the power to issue those licenses or make local laws more weed-friendly, are essentially able to "choose winners and losers."

“You pay your way into one of the few spots,” Dominic Corva, a sociology professor and co-director of the Institute for Interdisciplinary Marijuana Research at Cal Poly Humboldt, told the Times. “Once the game was limited licensing … it was like, who gets to have it?”

The Times report details numerous instances of local officials receiving suspicious payments from weed entrepreneurs looking to get an upper hand in the local market. In the small border town of Calexico, local officials projected $700,000 in annual tax revenue. But since 2018, the city has only collected $220,000 and lost a councilman and city commissioner to corruption. 

In early 2020, a city commissioner and councilman for Calexico, began meeting with who they thought was a businessman hoping to open a dispensary in their town of 40,000. The businessman agreed to pay the city officials $35,000 for what would be a "top spot in the queue" for city permits. After the city officials accepted the money in cash, the businessman revealed his true identity -- an undercover FBI agent. Both government officials would eventually plead guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery. 

David Romero, the city commissioner who accepted the bribe, told the LA Times that the city made a mistake in only allowing for 12 permits. “If you put a number on it, you’ll turn it into a political mess,” Romero said. “It was just a ticking time bomb.”

Drug roundup: Law enforcement warns about 'rainbow fentanyl'; young adults using pot and hallucinogens at record rates; needle exchange project in rural Nevada

Rainbow fentanyl (U.S. Customs and
Border Patrol Protection photo)

Law enforcement officials across the U.S. are reporting a spike in seizures of "rainbow fentanyl," a brightly-colored version of the synthetic opioid that often looks like candy. Some officials believe the drug is being marketed to children, but others dispute that. Still, officials agree that fentanyl is dangerous no matter what it looks like. Read more here and here.

The amount of young adults (ages 19 to 30) who report using marijuana and/or hallucinogens is at its highest rate since 1988, when the National Institutes of Health began tracking it. Marijuana vape usage reached pre-pandemic levels last month after dropping off in 2020. Meanwhile, hallucinogen usage rates began spiking in 2020. Bing drinking rates are also on the rise since the beginning of the pandemic. Read more here.

A needle exchange project modeled on urban efforts aims to save lives in rural Nevada. The program "comes as leaders in small, often conservative cities have been asked to adopt policies forged in large, more liberal cities, such as New York and San Francisco," Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez reports for Kaiser Health News. "Federal reports show people who use needle exchange programs are five times as likely to start drug treatment programs and three times as likely to stop using drugs as people who do not, but programs in Nevada and other states have faced similar pushback."

Growers see Okla. medical marijuana industry as a model for other states, but detractors warn against lax regulations

Medical marijuana is booming in Oklahoma, and growers say other states considering legalization should consider its example. But critics say lax regulations are causing big problems.

"While Oklahoma has become a kind of nirvana for growers and producers, who enjoy a relatively low start-up cost in comparison to other states, it has some lawmakers leery because of lax regulation," Graham Lee Brewer and Alicia Victoria Lozano report for CBS News. 

In the four years since Oklahoma voters legalized medical marijuana, "dispensaries have become as ubiquitous as gas stations and churches in much of Oklahoma, where state officials have licensed more than 12,000 marijuana-related businesses and about one in 10 people now own medical-marijuana cards," CBS reports. "Officials with the overwhelmed Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority said they’ve been able to inspect only a quarter of licensed marijuana businesses so far."

Gov. Kevin Stitt said this week that the language of the ballot initiative—which he believes misled voters—has made it difficult to regulate the cannabis industry: "This is causing major problems in our communities, and we must get it under control."

"Stitt said the relatively low cost of getting a business license and the lack of a cap on the number of growers has fueled a black market in Oklahoma that may require legislation to reform," CBS reports. "Rep. Rusty Cornwell, a Republican, has introduced legislation to place a temporary moratorium on issuing licenses, citing concern that out-of-state and foreign growers are exploiting loopholes in Oklahoma’s in-state residency requirements and taking advantage of the state’s limited enforcement resources, which has opened the door for organized crime." Another issue is the strain marijuana farms put on utilities.

"So far, 37 states have adopted medical-marijuana programs, and recreational marijuana use is legal in 18 of them," Brewer and Lozano report. And advocates are hopeful that a few of the 14 states that have yet to pass laws or approve ballot initiatives allowing the use of marijuana will do so in the next year or two, including Kansas, North Carolina, South Carolina and Kentucky." Some states considering legalization see Oklahoma as a cautionary tale. Mississippi's legislature studied Oklahoma's oversight issues before writing up a bill legalizing medical marijuana for those with debilitating medical conditions; Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed the bill last week.

Referendum roundup: New York state rejects looser voting rules; Maine adopts vague 'right to food' amendment

Off-year elections are usually pretty quiet, but voters are often asked to decide questions large and small. This week there were 24 statewide refernda in six states. Here are a few with rural resonance:

In Maine, by share of population the most rural state, two-thirds of voters approved a first-in-the-nation constitutional amendment establishing a "right to food," even though there's considerable confusion over what it means. "Described as an outgrowth of the food sovereignty movement, the amendment says Mainers have a right to grow and consume food of their choosing," Chuck Abbott reports for the Food and Environment Reporting Network. That extends to popular issues such as raw milk and the right to save and exchange seeds as long as it doesn't violate laws or exploit natural resources.

"Supporters used the campaign to make the case the amendment would ensure the right to grow vegetables and raise livestock in an era when corporatization threatens local ownership of the food supply," Patrick Whittle reports for The Associated Press. "They positioned the amendment as a chance for Mainers to wrestle control of the food supply back from large landowners and giant retailers with little connection to the community."

Abbott reports, "Opponents said the amendment was so broadly written that it could override animal cruelty laws or open the gate to domestic livestock in urban backyards. The Bangor Daily News said the ambiguous wording would put judges in charge of interpreting what the amendment means at the practical level." The paper also noted that the amendment doesn't expressly mention hunger.

In Colorado, 54 percent of voters rejected a measure that would have raised $150 million to partially fund private, out-of-school learning for children by raising the marijuana tax five percentage points to 20%, Jenny Brundin and Bente Birkeland report for Colorado Public Radio.

Proposition 119 aimed to help children falling behind because of the pandemic by providing tutoring, enrichment opportunities in the arts, career and technical training, physical therapy, mental health services, support for students with special needs, and mentoring. However, "opponents of the measure said it would have taken dollars away from public education and would have instead funded private companies to provide services," Brundin and Birkeland report.

In Texas, voters approved two constitutional amendments by broad margins. "Proposition 3, which was approved 63% to 37%, bars governments from taking any action that "prohibits or limits religious services," Asher Price reports for Axios Austin. "The proposition is part of a much broader national Covid-19 debate that pits public health officials bent on stymieing the disease's spread against pastors who say they were protecting their practice of religion."

And Proposition 6, approved by nearly 88% of Texas voters, "gives residents of nursing homes and long-term care facilities the right to designate an 'essential caregiver' who could not, under most circumstances, be barred from in-person visits," Price reports. "The proposition comes after stories of elderly people enduring months of isolation as part of the fight against Covid-19." It's unclear whether nursing homes could bar essential caregivers who are unvaccinated or unmasked. Since nursing home workers must be vaccinated, it stands to reason that visitors would be more likely to infect residents. That could be particularly deadly, since nursing home residents are far more likely to die from Covid-19 than others.

Voters in New York rejected three amendments that would have broadened voting access by allowing same-day registration without proof of residency, let voters get absentee ballots without needing an excuse, and requiring that incarcerated New Yorkers be counted as living at their last place of residence in redistricting, Dana Rubinstein reports for The New York Times. Broadened voting access measures tend to benefit urban—and therefore more liberal—voters. And rural areas generally gain more political clout when prisoners are counted as local residents in redistricting.

Analysts say the measures were defeated because the language on the ballot was hard to understand, and because the Democratic party made little effort to boost the propositions, while the state Republican party used the ballot issues as lightning rods to turn out their base in an otherwise quiet election cycle, Rubinstein reports.

Medical marijuana boom strains rural Oklahoma utilities

Medical marijuana has exploded in popularity since it became legal in Oklahoma in 2018. Nearly 10 percent of Oklahomans have a medical marijuana card, which has ushered in a boom in the cannabis industry: there are more than 8,000 growers statewide. But marijuana is a thirsty crop, and indoor operations need grow lights, so the higher demand for water and electricity is straining some rural utilities, Seth Bodine reports for Harvest Public Media.

Iris Farms, just north of Oklahoma City, outside Stillwater, is a good example. Head grower Adam Miller told Bodine the farm raises about 5,000 cannabis plants, and says his electric bill can be up to $3,000 a month. But his water bill isn't too bad because the plants are raised indoors, where they can keep the plants watered more efficiently.

Sheldon Tatum, a rural water district manager in Hughes County, southeast of Oklahoma City, "says one of the eight growers that recently moved to his area used 223,000 gallons last month. Compare that to an average household of four that uses about 10,000 gallons a month," Bodine reports. "Tatum worries the surge in water demand could cause old pipes to break, raising maintenance costs that will lead to higher utility bills for everyone."

Quick hits: Supreme Court to hear major gun rights case; thieves use drones to case farms and ranches...

Here's a roundup of stories with rural resonance; if you do or see similar work that should be shared on The Rural Blog, email us at heather.chapman@uky.edu.

The Supreme Court agreed Monday to hear a case about the right of licensed gun owners to carry a firearm outside the home. It's the first major Second Amendment case the court has taken up in more than a decade. Read more here.

A New Yorker who moved to rural Vermont during the pandemic reflects on what she loves about her new home. Read more here.

At a recent hearing, tribal officials spoke to the House Natural Resources subcommittee about lack of access to broadband, utilities and other infrastructure on reservations. Read more here.

Thousands of tourists head to Tennessee, North Carolina and West Virginia year to see Appalachia's synchronous fireflies. Ecologists and park officials are trying to figure out how to protect the beetles from harm while letting tourists enjoy the display (and help local economies). Read more here.

For decades, some flood-damaged communities were deemed too poor to receive federal flood protection, but a new section of the federal water law could change that. Read more here.

The Society of Environmental Journalists is now accepting applications for environmental journalism grants. The deadline is June 15. Read more here.

Drones now help some thieves survey rural farms and ranches to find their next target. Read more here.

THC potency is the next big debate in legalizing marijuana. Read more here.

USDA eases hemp rules on 'hot' crops, sampling and testing

The Agriculture Department released a final rule last Friday to address some of the widespread complaints from growers and state officials about federal hemp regulation, Ryan McCrimmon reports for Politico's Weekly Agriculture. Here's what's in the new rule, which is to take effect March 22:

1. It extends the window for farmers to have their hemp crops sampled by regulators, and loosens some of the sampling requirements.
2. Farmers have more options for dealing with "hot" crops, i.e., those that have more than 0.3 percent tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive compound in cannabis. Under the new rule, producers can use non-compliant hemp as "green manure" or other legal purposes instead of destroying it.
3. The rule gives farmers more wiggle room before they face legal consequences for growing hemp with too much THC. Farmers whose hemp has a certain level of THC can be considered "negligent" and face legal repercussions. The old threshold for negligence was 0.5%. Farmers, especially those new to the business, have long worried about accidentally tripping that threshold. The new rule increases the threshold to 1%, which USDA says will "increase flexibility to farmers as they learn more about how to grow compliant hemp and as the availability of stable hemp genetics improves."
4. USDA kept one of the most controversial provisions. Hemp still must be tested in labs licensed by the Drug Enforcement Agency, but USDA is delaying enforcement of that requirement until 2023 because there's currently a shortage of DEA-registered labs.

Less highway traffic in pandemic may have boosted rural car-wreck mortality rate by encouraging speeding

There were fewer traffic fatalities in 2020's second quarter than in 2019's, but that's because fewer vehicles were on the road during the pandemic. The traffic fatality rate, however, has increased. 

According to recent state and national data compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, several factors contributed to the fatality-rate increase. "First, there is evidence of an increase in ejection rates among people who were in crashes, suggesting a decrease in the seat-belt use rate of vehicle occupants. This increase was heavily tilted toward males, people 18 to 34 years old, and people in rural areas," the report says. "Second, according to state data and other reports, speeding was more prevalent on the roads. The reduction in traffic volume coupled with community efforts to reduce law enforcement personnel exposure by implementing changes in law enforcement activity provided drivers a greater opportunity to speed."

Moreover, there is evidence of higher usage of alcohol and drugs such as marijuana and opioids among 2020 crash victims compared to those who died in 2019. Survey research indicates that this may be because many people have begun to use such substances or increased their use to cope with pandemic-related stress, the report says.

Rural-urban statehouse divisions foreshadow policy fights

Blue counties got bluer and red counties got redder in the November elections, widening ideological divides as Democrats and Republicans dug in and became less likely to compromise on pressing issues in the 2021 legislative sessions, including dealing with covid-19 and budget deficits," Elaine Povich reports for Stateline. That ideological divide, often along rural-urban lines, foreshadows "the rancorous redistricting process that will set political boundaries for the next decade, particularly in states where the governor is of one party and the legislature the other."

The deepening political divide could affect a wide range of issues, from state budgets, minimum wages, marijuana, infrastructure funding, and more, Povich reports.

In Wisconsin, for example, political entrenchment is hampering pandemic response. "Democratic Gov. Tony Evers plans a new executive order requiring a mask mandate into 2021 and called on Republicans to drop a lawsuit against it," Povich reports. "Wisconsin is one of a handful of states without a statewide pandemic plan, due to GOP efforts to thwart Evers’ proposals, except for the mask mandate, so far."

Ballot measure roundup: Coloradans approve restoration of gray wolves, paid family and medical leave

Colorado voters approved the restoration of gray wolves and mandated paid family and medical leave Tuesday, the first time any state has done such things in a referendum, on Tuesday.

Those were just two of 184 statewide ballot measures, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Here are a few others, courtesy of NCSL:

• Arizona, Montana, New Jersey and South Dakota approved efforts to legalize recreational marijuana, while voters in South Dakota and Mississippi approved medical marijuana programs.
• Oregonians decriminalized small amounts of certain controlled substances, such as heroin and cocaine, and the Beaver State also legalized psilocybin—become the first state ever to do so. The drug comes from mushrooms and is used in rituals by some Native American tribes.
• Ranked-choice voting, which was adopted in Maine recently, failed in Massachusetts and looks likely to fail in Alaska.
• Virginia voters adopted a redistricting commission, and that change means most states will now have a commission of some kind, though some are merely advisory, or only come into being if the legislature fails to pass maps.
• Voters approved taxes on tobacco and electronic-cigarette products in Colorado and Oregon. Washington will require public schools to provide comprehensive sex education beginning in 2022. 
• California voters rejected stricter parole and sentencing policies and stopped the legislature’s efforts to replace cash bail with pretrial risk assessments.
• Kentucky passed Marsy’s law, the crime victims’ bill of rights.
• Florida voters raised the minimum wage.
• An effort to overturn California’s affirmative action ban failed.
• Two “Stand Your Ground” Rights measures pass in Alabama.
• Mississippians approved the state’s new magnolia flag design, which was put before voters after the legislature decided to replace the previous flag feature the confederate battle emblem.

Updates are at NCSL’s State Elections 2020 webpage and statewide ballot measures database.

Cannabis farmers are stuck without disaster aid or useful crop insurance because federal law disqualifies them

Farmers have had a rough two years, partly because of wild weather: derechos in the Midwest, wildfires in the South and West, and hurricanes in the Southeast. But while most can get disaster aid or crop insurance payouts, cannabis farmers have access to neither, and it's a threat to the fledgling industry.

Cannabis cultivation was authorized in the 2018 Farm Bill, but "because federal law defines marijuana as an illegal, dangerous drug, neither federal agencies nor conventional banks and major insurance companies will work with marijuana businesses even if they are legal under state law," Sophie Quinton reports for Stateline. "Nor are marijuana businesses eligible for federal disaster relief."

Though cannabis growers can buy crop insurance from local providers, one farmer told Quinton he couldn't find a policy worth the money. "Producers and industry supporters now are pushing for changes to federal relief law and seeking state disaster aid," Quinton reports.

Virginia governor signs sweeping gun-control laws

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam signed sweeping gun-control measures into law Friday, realizing the fears of many rural constituents.

The newly signed package requires background checks on all firearm sales; allows law enforcement to temporarily take someone's guns away if they're deemed a danger to themselves or others; limits Virginia residents to buying one handgun a month; requires people to report lost or stolen guns in 48 hours; and increases the penalty for leaving firearms out around children, according to a press release.

Northam proposed an amendment to a bill that would allow local governments to regulate where firearms are allowed; his amendment clarifies that colleges and universities would be exempt from local laws. He also proposed an amendment to a bill that would require people with protective orders against them to turn over their guns; the amendment would allow judges to hold the person in contempt of court if they fail to comply.

Some of the gun-control bills were watered down to pass the state Senate, Gregory Schneider reports for The Washington Post. Though Democrats control both chambers of the legislature, the Senate has been more concerned about the repercussions for rural constituents: a bill banning "assault weapons" died in the Senate in February. but House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn worked with senators to find a happy medium. Seven of the eight gun-control bills passed the legislature in some form. 

"Guns became a divisive issue in Virginia after Democrats won full control of the state's General Assembly in November, and Northam, a Democrat, promised to pass the host of restrictions," reports Ryan Miller of USA Today. "The signing comes almost three months after more than 20,000 gun owners descended on the state capitol in Richmond to protest the measures. It's also been almost a year since the deadly Virginia Beach shooting left 12 people dead plus the shooter."

Rural Virginia has acted, too. In the months after the election, most rural counties declared themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries, asserting that local law enforcement would not comply with state laws. And in January, Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. and West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice invited conservative Virginia counties to secede and join West Virginia.

Gun sales are at an all-time high in Virginia (and in the U.S. overall) in recent weeks. Most of that is attributed to the pandemic, but in Virginia some of it was probably because of fears about gun legislation, Mark Bowes reports for the Richmond Times-Dispatch. 

In addition to gun-control laws, Northam also expanded protections for LGBT Virginians, loosened restrictions on abortion, made it easier to vote, and decriminalized possession marijuana (those caught with the drug would pay a $25 civil fine).

USDA will let hemp farmers destroy 'hot' crops themselves, but stands by 15-day rule; DEA allows more labs to do tests

Hemp farmers whose crop is found too much of the psychoactive ingredient that makes it marijuana will be allowed to destroy the fields themselves instead of hiring contractors, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Wednesday. USDA also plans to "expand the number of laboratories that can test industrial hemp for THC levels," Chuck Abbott reports for Successful Farming.

"Growers and state officials have complained that there will not be enough laboratories to test hemp samples when harvest time arrives and that farmers could be saddled with the high cost of destroying fields of hemp that exceed the THC limit," making them "hot," Abbott writes. "The USDA interim rule issued last fall also said that when fields exceed the THC limit, the crop would be disposed of by law enforcement or a DEA-approved 'reverse distributor,' who would treat hemp with the same protocols as contraband drugs, such as incineration."

Agriculture Undersecretary Greg Ibach said that after discussions with the Drug Enforcement Administration, testing labs won't have to complete a DEA certification process this year, so they test for THC if states consider them reliable.

"Ibach did not mention another complaint of growers: the requirement to harvest a field within 15 days of collecting samples for THC tests," Abbott reports. "Producers say 15 days is not enough time to get a report from a test lab and then harvest the field." The rule is part of rules that USDA issued in October that are more rigorous than those used in many states' pilot hemp programs.

New federal hemp regulations would make it harder for farmers to prove their plants aren't marijuana

"New federal regulations would make it harder for hemp growers to prove their plants are not marijuana, in what could be a major setback to a promising industry legalized just two years ago, farmers and state officials say," Sophie Quinton and April Simpson report for Stateline.

When the 2014 Farm Bill legalized pilot programs for hemp production, each state set its own hemp testing standards to ensure that the crops contained less than 0.3 percent tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive ingredient that legally distinguishes hemp from marijuana. Nationwide hemp cultivation was approved in the 2018 Farm Bill, but the measure included little direction for federal or state regulation and regulators have been playing catchup since then, Quinton and Simpson report.

In October the U.S. Department of Agriculture unveiled federal THC testing standards that are more rigorous and with a shorter time frame than those used in many states' pilot programs. "It also gives farmers less wiggle room to salvage crops that grow hot, or above the 0.3% THC mark," Quinton and Simpson write. "Now states are scrambling to adapt, and farmers are worrying they’ll face a higher risk of having to destroy crops that test 'hot' as marijuana."

Several state agriculture officials told Stateline that more crops could test hot under the proposed rule. "In Maine, for instance, none of the more than 2,000 acres tested last year were considered hot. But under the USDA’s more stringent testing standards, more than a fourth of the crop would have failed, according to State Horticulturalist Gary Fish," Quinton and Simpson report.

An interim USDA rule goes into effect Nov. 1, but the final rule may not be issued until after the 2021 growing season, which gives state officials more time to lobby for a change. In the meantime, states like Kentucky and Vermont that had pilot programs can extend those programs (and their testing standards) through this growing season. But at least 30 states will have to adapt their rules to match the stricter USDA standards right away, Quinton and Simpson report.

Hemp companies' bankruptcies illustrate industry's growing pains; stakeholders weigh in on proposed regulations

Two Kentucky hemp processing companies are facing bankruptcy after months of financial problems, highlighting the regulatory problems that plague the fledgling industry.

Three creditors, owed more than $50,000 altogether, recently filed an involuntary-bankruptcy petition to force GenCanna, one of the state's largest hemp processors, into Chapter 11 bankruptcy. "GenCanna is also in arbitration with a group of Central Kentucky farmers who sued in October for $5 million over a failed joint venture," Janet Patton reports for the Lexington Herald-Leader. Among other things, the farmers allege that GenCanna didn't provide them with hemp to plant until it was too late in the growing season to make other arrangements, which forced them to accept poor-quality plants and sign "horrific" contracts.

"Separately, GenCanna was sued last year for more than $13 million over debts related to a Graves County processing plant" it's building, Patton reports. Last week, accounting firm Dean Dorton filed suit in Fayette Circuit Court, alleging that GenCanna owes it more than $500,000 in services.

GenCanna isn't the only Kentucky hemp company in bankruptcy court. In January, Sunstrand owner William "Trey" Riddle filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy to liquidate assets. "According to that filing, Riddle and Sunstrand have between $100,001 and $500,000 in assets but owe more than $10 million," Patton reports. "It is unclear if Sunstrand, which specializes in using hemp fiber in a variety of materials, is still operating."

The companies' bankruptcies may reflect legal uncertainty in the hemp industry. The 2018 Farm Bill authorized its widespread cultivation, but left regulations largely up to states. The lack of federal regulation has led to interstate-commerce problems, and the crop's popularity has outpaced state laws governing its growth and distribution. Hemp farmers have also had a hard time with banking, and a lack of financial protections when processors or distributors don't keep their end of the bargain.

Many stakeholders are frustrated with the Wild West atmosphere, as evidenced by the 2,500-plus public comments the U.S. Department of Agriculture received on its proposed regulations for hemp production. Though some commenters complained that federal rules could hamper the industry, "Most commenters were glad to have some guidance after being stuck in regulatory limbo for much of 2019," Ryan McCrimmon reports for Politico's Morning Agriculture.

The American Farm Bureau Federation asked that the USDA develop a seed certification program for farmers who buy seeds from foreign countries. Such seeds might produce plants with too much tetrahydrocannabinol (the chemical in cannabis that produces a high), and that could jeopardize the crop's ability to qualify as hemp, McCrimmon reports.

"The National Farmers Union took issue with the rule’s 'negligence' threshold: If a plant exceeds a 0.5 percent level of THC, farmers risk losing their license. NFU said that’s too rigid, especially in the early years as producers try to develop best practices for growing hemp," McCrimmon reports. Bumping up the legal THC threshold is also one of the Farm Bureau's 2020 policy goals.

The U.S. Hemp Roundtable, a lobbying group that represents companies that sell hemp products, said they disagreed with the requirement that only labs certified by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration can be used to test hemp, McCrimmon reports. That could lead to testing bottlenecks, the group said.

Farm Bureau ratifies 2020 policy goals, including support for trade bailouts, relaxed THC threshold in hemp, and more

Delegates from the American Farm Bureau Federation, the nation's largest general agriculture organization, ratified the final version of its policy goals for 2020 during its annual convention last week in Austin, Texas. The delegates also re-elected President Zippy Duvall and Vice President Scott VanderWal for their third terms, according to the AFBF website.

Bailout money for farmers hurt by the trade war continues to be a top Farm Bureau priority. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said at the convention that a third tranche of Market Facilitation Program payments for 2019 crops would come soon, but said there will be no trade relief for 2020. "Still, Farm Bureau members voted to keep language in the policy book supportive of MFP payments even with President Donald Trump touting trade wins in China and the congressional approval of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement," Chris Clayton notes for DTN/The Progressive Farmer.

"Our members are basically saying, 'Show us results'," VanderWal told Clayton. Essentially, he said, farmers are waiting for proof that the trade agreement with China will bear fruit, and noted that "no products have moved, implementation hasn’t happened yet, and it’s kind of a 'prove it to me' thing."

The Farm Bureau also wants the Agriculture Department to change the way it determines the pricing structure of fluid milk in the Federal Milk Marketing Order, a system meant to help dairy farmers by setting minimum prices. Dairy farmers have been under increasing financial stress in recent years, and changing the pricing structure would make it more fair, VanderWal told Clayton.

Hemp was another big issue. Farm Bureau members want hemp to be allowed to have up to 1 percent tetrahydrocannabinol, the chemical in cannabis that gives people high. Hemp and marijuana are identical except for THC content; under the 2018 Farm Bill, hemp is limited to 0.3% THC, and must be destroyed at 0.5% THC. Delegates also want to eliminate THC testing for hemp grown for non-consumption purposes, such as grain, fiber, seed, oil or ethanol, Clayton reports.

Farm Bureau delegates also support "right to repair" legislation so farmers can fix equipment less expensively. And they want USDA to permanently move the haying, grazing and chopping date for prevented-planting acres from Nov. 1 to an earlier date. "Following the 2019 crop year that had roughly 20 million prevented-planting acres, farmers had complained that Nov. 1 would be too late to get any value out of haying or grazing a cover crop, so USDA moved the dates to early September last year," Clayton reports.

Farm Bureau also proposed mandatory study, testing and monitoring of synthetic meat analogues, and want to make sure such products don't get any regulatory or administrative edge over naturally grown meat, dairy and other such products. Delegates also support voluntary compliance with Country of Origin Labeling; mandatory compliance would put the U.S. in violation of the new treaty with Canada and Mexico, Clayton reports.

Finally, Clayton notes, delegates also voted to repeal USDA "swampbuster" rules, "which effectively means eliminating wetland delineations on farms that restrict farm-program payments. Farm Bureau wants USDA to better specify wetland designations and streamline the appeals process for producers." The move will likely upset conservationists, but the delegates said farmers are increasingly frustrated with conservation compliance practices within the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Quick hits: Census kicks off in tiny Alaska town; how to reduce food waste in rural United States . . .

Here's a roundup of stories with rural resonance; if you do or see similar work that should be shared on The Rural Blog, email us at heather.chapman@uky.edu.

The 2020 decennial census just kicked off in a tiny town in Alaska. Read more here.

A new University of Vermont study offers tips to small-town governments for how to promote the practice of composting food scraps to reduce the need for (and expense of) municipal garbage pick-up services. Read more here.

Minnesota farmers struggling with tariffs and low crop prices weigh their support for President Trump. Read more here.

New research says legalizing marijuana could help fight the opioid epidemic. Read more here.

Rural places keep building jails as moneymakers, but report from advocate of bail reform says they may not pay off

The Grayson County Detention Center in Leitchfield, Ky., houses many federal prisoners and is expanding.

While the overall incarcerated population in the U.S. has fallen over the past decade, jail and prison capacity has increased, especially in rural areas that increasingly rely on jails for revenue, according to a new report from the Vera Institute for Justice, "Broken Ground: Why America Keeps Building More Jails and What It Can Do Instead." (For simplicity's sake, it refers to prisons as "jails.")

Nationwide, jail capacity grew by 86,400 beds—over 11 percent—between 2005 and 2013, mostly in smaller cities and rural areas. "To justify this growth, incarceration is still often framed as a solution, rather than a problem, positioning jail expansion as a pragmatic answer to growing jail populations," the report says, but it says more jail and prison capacity almost ensures increased incarceration rates.

"There are several reasons why rural counties have steadily built out their jails over the past decade, but one of the biggest ones is the potential to turn the facility into a money generator," Emma Coleman reports for Route Fifty. "By building a new jail, or adding an expansion on to an existing one, counties are able to rent the extra space out to other counties, or to the state and federal government, when their facilities experience overcrowding." In recent years, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has become a big customer, the report says.

"Usually a county could get paid $50 to $100 per day for housing people from outside their jurisdiction," report co-author Chris Mai told Coleman. "It makes people think a larger jail is a sound financial decision."

However, the report shows that pursuing jail expansion could be a long-term risk. Though jail populations have always increased eventually, "growing bipartisan support for policies like the elimination of cash bail, the decriminalization of marijuana, and diversion programs, coupled with falling crime rates, could change that calculus," Coleman reports. "Instead, new jails right now are being built for a shrinking market—and county taxpayers are on the hook for larger, more expensive facilities that may very well sit empty." The Vera Institute favors bail reform.