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The difference between marijuana and hemp is a matter of measurement.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has launched a program to help laboratories accurately measure key chemical compounds in marijuana, hemp and other cannabis products including oils, edibles, tinctures and balms. The program aims to increase accuracy in product labeling and help forensic laboratories distinguish between hemp, which is legal in all states, and marijuana, which is not.
As part of the Cannabis Quality Assurance (CannaQAP) program, NIST will send hemp oil samples to participating labs, which will then measure the concentration of various compounds and report back to NIST. Future exercises will involve plant material.
The labels on most cannabis products list the concentration of at least two chemical compounds: tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the psychoactive ingredient that produces a high, and cannabidiol, or CBD, which is not intoxicating but is sought after for its many purported health benefits. However, most laboratories have limited experience making these measurements, which can sometimes be unreliable as a result.
The goal of the program, said NIST research chemist Brent Wilson, is to help labs produce consistent measurement results. “When you walk into a store or dispensary and see a label that says 10% CBD, you want to know that you can trust that number.”
Those numbers are also important as a matter of criminal law. The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, also called the 2018 Farm Bill, legalized any cannabis material with a THC concentration below 0.3%. Below that number, it’s hemp. At or above that number, it’s marijuana, and illegal in many states and by federal law. A farmer ..
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