Boise (670 KBOI News) – The Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee (JFAC), which writes the state budget, votes 17-2 to give the Idaho State Police the supplemental money it needs to buy machines to test how much THC is in material which is claimed to be hemp.
It’s an issue that arose after the federal government passed the 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized hemp production, but not marijuana..the difference between the two is in the amount of THC they contain.
Senator Abby Lee of Fruitland said while hemp is still not legal in Idaho, the federal government says states can’t keep it from being transported across state lines.
“This gives us our own tools, in our own state, rather than having to send these samples out to Kentucky,” said Lee. “I think we have an immediate need, that has been thrust upon us, and we’re just trying to address some risk that the state faces if we don’t get ahead of handling this interstate commerce issue.”
The matter is made that much more urgent by the recent seizure of roughly three and a half tons of material that the owners say is hemp…but the ISP had to send that off to Kentucky for testing.
