An entire crop of hemp has been destroyed in Tasmania's north because it had a higher than an allowed concentration of the psychoactive component also found in marijuana.
The crop has been plowed into the ground because the levels are outside the legislated limit for hemp as food, with the farmer blaming a cooler than average season.
"Unfortunately, the crop of seed that I sourced from China … has tested over the 1 percent THC threshold and the legislation dictates anything over 1 percent needs to be destroyed," said hemp farmer and president of the Tasmanian Hemp Association, Tim Schmidt.
In hemp, the cannabis plant has been bred to have extremely low concentrations of the psychoactive component tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. While marijuana may contain upwards of 25 percent THC, hemp typically contains less than 1 percent, and smoking it for a high is useless. However, Tim Schmidt's hemp at 1.5 percent THC was a tiny bit closer to the plant which gives people a high.
Farmer will rethink seeds
It has flummoxed the farmer and his consultant agronomist, Konrad Chung, because the pair planted the same seeds last year with lower results. "It may be a genetic thing, that the plants respond to [the weather] that we've had, that would produce a high THC level," Mr Chung said.
For Tim Schmidt, it's a blow to his 2021 bottom line, with the lost crop worth about $5,000 dollars.
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