Maryland and Minnesota just got legalized and there’s a ton of new growers who have a healthy fear of what is legal or not when it comes to shipping cannabis seeds. Marijuana or “marihuana” is listed as a Schedule 1 drug under the controlled substance Act. Marijuana is defined by the controlled substance act as 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.
Both the United States Post Office and Customs agree that shipping cannabis seeds from state to state and into the country is 100% legal.
However, In the United States, the legal status of possessing cannabis seeds varies from state to state. While some states have fully legalized cannabis for both medical and recreational use, others maintain strict prohibitions.
The 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized industrial hemp, classifies hemp as cannabis with less than 0.3% THC content. Since hemp is federally legal, cannabis seeds fall into that classification and is excluded from the Controlled Substance Act.
It is important to exercise caution, as interpretations of federal and state laws can vary. Some states explicitly criminalize the sale and possession of cannabis seeds, even if they do not contain THC.
The legal landscape surrounding cannabis is always changing but my site will always try to stay up to date on it. Some states that previously had strict regulations against cannabis may have changed their laws or regulations since my last update. Additionally, other states may have specific regulations or restrictions on cannabis seeds that are not explicitly mentioned here.
As of my knowledge from research done on August 11th, 2023, The following states are illegal:
Idaho: Idaho has maintained a very strict stance against cannabis. “A producer license authorizes a person or entity to obtain and possess hemp seed for planting; to cultivate and harvest hemp; to transport their own hemp crop; to dispose of or remediate their own hemp; as well as possess and market plant parts.
Source: https://adminrules.idaho.gov/rules/current/02/020107.pdf page 4
Kentucky Prohibits Cannabis Seeds, Hemp too: https://www.kyagr.com/marketing/hemp-law.html
Even though the 2018 Farm Bill removes hemp from the controlled substance list, no person can grow, handle (possess), or process hemp plants, viable seed, leaf or floral materials without a hemp license issued by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture.
References:
List of All US controlled substances: https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/schedules/orangebook/c_cs_alpha.pdf
Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (AKA 2018 Farm Bill): https://www.congress.gov/115/plaws/publ334/PLAW-115publ334.pdf
Official Definition of Hemp declared on page 420!!! Lol
Department of Justice: Exclusion of Hemp from CSA (Controlled Substance Act) Definition of “Marihuana”: https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/GDP/(DEA-DC-057)(EO-DEA217)_Researchers_Manual_Final_signed.pdf#search=cannabis%20seeds
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House of Government Official Citation Defining Hemp: https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=(title:7%20section:1639o%20edition:prelim)%20OR%20(granuleid:USC-prelim-title7-section1639o)&f=treesort&num=0&edition=prelim
Study on Delta 9 THC Percentage in Cannabis Seeds: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5665515/
DEA letter to lawyers:
https://www.omarfigueroa.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/22-8286-Law-Office-Figueroa-seeds-and-genetic-material-10052022-signed.pdf
https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/21580238/21-7692-shane-pennington-cannabis-seeds-tissue-genetic-material-11-18-21-signed-1.pdf
USPS official statement on Allowance of Mailing Cannabis Seeds: https://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2019/pb22521/html/updt_002.htm
Official Statement from US Customs: https://help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-1751?language=en_US
Legal Disclaimer: Nothing contained in this video is meant to provide you with legal advice regarding your particular situation, nor is the information intended to create any sort of attorney/client relationship. The law is complicated and any attempt to apply any of the information contained on this video to your particular situation, without the help and advice of an experienced attorney, may well do more harm than good.
#marijuanalaws #cannabis #cannabisseeds
