Title 7, AgricultureRelease 119-110

§1639q Department of Agriculture

Title 7 › CHAPTER 38 — DISTRIBUTION AND MARKETING OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS › SUBCHAPTER VII — HEMP PRODUCTION › § 1639q

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of Agriculture must run a program to monitor and control hemp farming in any State or tribal area that does not have its own approved plan. The program must keep land records for at least 3 calendar years, test hemp for delta-9 THC using post-decarboxylation or other equally reliable tests, set rules to destroy plants and products grown in violation, follow the enforcement steps in section 1639p(e), require yearly inspections of a random sample of growers, and include any other appropriate practices that fit the law. The Secretary will issue licenses under this program, and growing hemp there without a Secretary-issued license is illegal. The Secretary, not the State or Tribe, will carry out enforcement and must report unlicensed growing to the Attorney General. The Secretary must also collect and make available in real time to law enforcement each grower’s contact information, the legal land description where hemp is grown, the grower’s license or authorization status, and any changes to that status.

Full Legal Text

Title 7, §1639q

Agriculture, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Department of Agriculture plan

(1)In general

In the case of a State or Indian tribe for which a State or Tribal plan is not approved under section 1639p of this title, the production of hemp in that State or the territory of that Indian tribe shall be subject to a plan established by the Secretary to monitor and regulate that production in accordance with paragraph (2).

(2)Content

A plan established by the Secretary under paragraph (1) shall include—

(A)a practice to maintain relevant information regarding land on which hemp is produced in the State or territory of the Indian tribe, including a legal description of the land, for a period of not less than 3 calendar years;

(B)a procedure for testing, using post-decarboxylation or other similarly reliable methods, delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration levels of hemp produced in the State or territory of the Indian tribe;

(C)a procedure for the effective disposal of—

(i)plants, whether growing or not, that are produced in violation of this subchapter; and

(ii)products derived from those plants;

(D)a procedure to comply with the enforcement procedures under subsection (c)(2);

(E)a procedure for conducting annual inspections of, at a minimum, a random sample of hemp producers to verify that hemp is not produced in violation of this subchapter; and

(F)such other practices or procedures as the Secretary considers to be appropriate, to the extent that the practice or procedure is consistent with this subchapter.

(b)Licensing

The Secretary shall establish a procedure to issue licenses to hemp producers in accordance with a plan established under subsection (a).

(c)Violations

(1)In general

In the case of a State or Indian tribe for which a State or Tribal plan is not approved under section 1639p of this title, it shall be unlawful to produce hemp in that State or the territory of that Indian tribe without a license issued by the Secretary under subsection (b).

(2)Negligent and other violations

A violation of a plan established under subsection (a) shall be subject to enforcement in accordance with paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 1639p(e) of this title, except that the Secretary shall carry out that enforcement instead of a State department of agriculture or Tribal government.

(3)Reporting to Attorney General

In the case of a State or Indian tribe covered by paragraph (1), the Secretary shall report the production of hemp without a license issued by the Secretary under subsection (b) to the Attorney General.

(d)Information sharing for law enforcement

(1)In general

The Secretary shall—

(A)collect the information described in paragraph (2); and

(B)make the information collected under subparagraph (A) accessible in real time to Federal, State, territorial, and local law enforcement.

(2)Content

The information collected by the Secretary under paragraph (1) shall include—

(A)contact information for each hemp producer in a State or the territory of an Indian tribe for which—

(i)a State or Tribal plan is approved under section 1639p(b) of this title; or

(ii)a plan is established by the Secretary under this section;

(B)a legal description of the land on which hemp is grown by each hemp producer described in subparagraph (A); and

(C)for each hemp producer described in subparagraph (A)—

(i)the status of—

(I)a license or other required authorization from the State department of agriculture or Tribal government, as applicable; or

(II)a license from the Secretary; and

(ii)any changes to the status.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

7 U.S.C. § 1639q

Title 7, Agriculture

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110