Why do the Poles plan to increase the amount of THC in industrial crops to 1%
In addition to using the medical properties of hemp, an increase in the amount of THC to 1% strengthens the country's ability to grow and process hemp fiber , as a significant number of Polish varieties with significant potential for use in food or textile purposes exceeds the amount of THC by more than 0.3%.
The Ministry of Agriculture of Poland in the published 2-year plan for the development of agriculture recommended the government to raise the level of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) for hemp plants that will be grown on an industrial scale “ on the open ground ”. According to the proposal of government officials , hemp varieties with a content limit of not more than 1% THC can be registered for cultivation in Poland .
In addition, government officials plan to simplify the value chain of hemp products , including by reducing the administrative burden associated with monitoring the cultivation , processing and sales of plants , as well as hemp products currently implemented by various government agencies . As an example of this kind of approach to hemp problems , we need to focus on the efforts of the government to cancel various archaic provisions of certain legal acts . For example, the Ministry of Agriculture formally requested the Ministry of Health to amend the definition of the 2005 Law on Combating Drug Abuse, certain provisions of which are used by law enforcement agencies to unlawfully interfere with the legal activities of agricultural producers .
Polish Ministry of Agriculture officials emphasize that hemp plants with a higher THC level usually contain higher cannabidiol levels , therefore countries that adhere to the 1% standard have a competitive advantage in the modern hemp breeding sector , which uses the therapeutic properties of the plant compared to those that are limited lower levels of controlled cannabinoid. It is emphasized that in addition to using the medical properties of hemp, an increase in the amount of THC to 1% strengthens the country's ability to grow and process hemp fiber , as a significant number of Polish varieties with significant potential for use in food or textile purposes exceeds the amount of THC by more than 0.3%. Agricultural producers of the country cannot take advantage of the potential of the above varieties , since according to EU requirements such crops must be destroyed.
Commentary experts of the Association "Ukrainian industrial hemp"
Uruguay, South Africa , Malawi, and Thailand are among the cannabis producing countries that set THC levels for plants at 1.0%. The above limit in the amount of tetrahydrocannabinol is also set in individual states of Australia , as well as in Switzerland , which is not part of the European Union and does not comply with the relevant EU Directive . It should be noted the peculiarities of the regulatory framework in Italy , in which the national limit on the number of TGCs is regulated by an indicator of 0.6%.
Polish agricultural producers need to keep in mind that only those who grow technical hemp varieties that meet the EU requirements for 0.2% THC will be eligible for direct subsidies from the EU budget .
The following fact should be instructive for national hemp breeders . Having obtained exclusive rights to the distribution of technical hemp varieties of Ukrainian selection in 1997 , in which the number of THC did not exceed 0.15% and lobbied the relevant provisions in the EU Directive , which predetermined the maximum value for European varieties of 0.2%, French companies made the most effective use of the monopoly position on the market , virtually destroying selection and seed production in several European countries .
It is clear why Polish government officials , by analogy with the government structures in Italy and Switzerland, raise the question of the need to increase the number of TGCs to 1% - their varieties for the most part cannot correspond to the level of TGCs in the EU of 0.2%. The question for our government officials is, given the catastrophic situation in the national regulatory framework , which makes Ukrainian hemp breeding uncompetitive compared to similar sectors on a global level and the only barrier that so far is holding back the expansion of European varieties into our country , why raise the issue of increasing the number of THC from the current 0.08% to 0.2%. Criterion 0.08% easily maintained national breeding and seed companies , and increasing the amount of THC and 0.2% in the national legislation of our governmental structures "to saw off the branch on which sits" national hemp industry . First of all, French seed and breeding companies that have significantly larger financial resources than Ukrainian ones will do the same as has already been done in a number of European countries - they will destroy national selection and seed production . Having lost control of breeding and seed material Ukrainian cannabis growers will lose the foundation of its own independent policy on the market and will be dependent not on conjectures of the market , and by third-party interests , we already compete on the global market .