{"id":5235,"date":"2025-09-23T16:44:24","date_gmt":"2025-09-23T21:44:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/23\/st-louis-county-drops-bill-to-ban-unregulated-intoxicating-cannabis-products-2\/"},"modified":"2025-09-23T16:44:24","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T21:44:24","slug":"st-louis-county-drops-bill-to-ban-unregulated-intoxicating-cannabis-products-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/23\/st-louis-county-drops-bill-to-ban-unregulated-intoxicating-cannabis-products-2\/","title":{"rendered":"St. Louis County drops bill to ban unregulated intoxicating cannabis products"},"content":{"rendered":"

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(Rebecca Rivas\/The Missouri Independent)<\/p>\n

A St. Louis County bill aimed at preventing intoxicating cannabis products from being sold outside of dispensaries is dead, after meeting heavy resistance from retailers and distributors.<\/span><\/p>\n

St. Louis County Councilwoman Lisa Clancy, the bill sponsor, dropped the bill during the council\u2019s Tuesday meeting.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAfter engaging with stakeholders and hearing a lot of thoughtful discussion between stakeholders and also the council, I have come to the conclusion that there is not a pathway at this time or a consensus to move forward on this,\u201d Clancy said during the meeting.<\/span><\/p>\n

Clancy said she\u2019s hopeful state legislators will address the \u201cvery serious public health and safety issues\u201d when they reconvene in January.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

State law prohibits marijuana products from being sold outside of dispensaries.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, thousands of gas stations and other stores statewide currently sell THC products \u2013 such as gummies, beverages and vapes \u2013 that get people high the same way that marijuana does. <\/span><\/p>\n

The difference, producers say, is that the products are made from hemp. Lab and cannabis experts testified last week before the council that there\u2019s no way to ensure these products aren\u2019t made from black-market marijuana without a track-and-track system like the one that\u2019s required for regulated marijuana.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While some liquor stores \u2013 including Total Wine \u2013 have self-imposed age restrictions on purchasing the beverages, there\u2019s no government agency regulating the products \u2013 and that includes who can buy them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For the past three years, Missouri lawmakers have debated legislation that would put all THC products under the same regulatory framework as marijuana. The proposals were met by fierce opposition, particularly from associations representing convenience stores, hemp companies and veterans.<\/span><\/p>\n

This past spring, Republican state Sen. Nick Schroer of Defiance offered a proposal that <\/span>carved out <\/span><\/a>an exception for low-dose THC beverages, which have been sold in Missouri\u2019s bars and liquor stores for seven years. It still required things like high-dose gummies, THCA flower and vapes to only be sold in marijuana dispensaries.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Schroer\u2019s bill was <\/span>filibustered<\/span><\/a> by state Sen. Karla May and other St. Louis Democratic senators, who argued that it would create a monopoly for the marijuana industry and harm small businesses.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hemp naturally has very little THC, the intoxicating component mostly associated with marijuana. But that potency can be increased with some <\/span>science<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

While marijuana, from seed to final product, is governed by a state regulatory regime, <\/span>intoxicating hemp products have been completely unregulated<\/span><\/a> by any governmental agency since 2018 \u2014 when Congress passed a Farm Bill that legalized hemp.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If enacted, Clancy\u2019s bill would\u2019ve effectively banned those products in Missouri\u2019s largest county.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Clancy dropped the bill just before another council member was going to offer a substitute draft.<\/span><\/p>\n

Earlier in the day, the Missouri Cannabis Trade Association urged Clancy and other council members to drop the bill.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe appreciate the efforts of local elected officials in St. Louis County to prevent more area kids from buying and using these unregulated products,\u201d\u00a0 said Andrew Mullins, executive director of MoCannTrade, \u201cbut it is becoming clearer that it\u2019s Missouri state government that needs to lead the way on this public safety issue.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mullins asked the council to withdraw the measure and join the association in Jefferson City to lobby for regulations.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhile a patchwork of regulations and bans across Missouri\u2019s 114 counties is certainly better than the current wild west reality,\u201d he said, \u201cit wouldn\u2019t give parents, teachers and law enforcement the peace of mind they need to hold the bad actors selling and making these products accountable.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Clancy said if the state fails to take action again next year, then the council \u201cmay re-evaluate and reconsider.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m hopeful that the state will pick this up and their session this coming winter,\u201d she said. \u201cI think all of us on the council will be watching it carefully.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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