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Slaphappy Hemp farm in Rosebud (photo submitted). <\/p>\n
Businesses and Missouri lawmakers are scrambling to understand what will happen in November, when <\/span>new federal limits on intoxicating hemp products <\/span><\/a>go into effect.<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s unclear just how proactive the federal government will be enforcing the new restrictions. Will it clamp down, or like it has with marijuana, look the other way as states enact their own rules?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n To add to the uncertainty, <\/span>President Donald Trump signed an <\/span>executive order <\/span><\/a>last week to loosen federal restrictions on marijuana. That action could impact whether or not the feds choose to enforce hemp products as well, according to a congressional <\/span>report<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Amidst the swirling questions, several Missouri lawmakers have pre-filed bills for the upcoming legislative session that begins in January to establish state regulations on intoxicating hemp products.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Not all of the Missouri proposals include the federal THC limit in their definitions of hemp, which <\/span>will take effect <\/span>Nov. 12 and was included in a\u00a0 federal spending package approved by Congress and signed by the president in November.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n One <\/span>proposal<\/span><\/a> that does align with the federal restrictions comes from Republican state Sen. David Gregory of Chesterfield, and it would regulate intoxicating hemp the same as marijuana. That would essentially ban current hemp products, because marijuana must be grown in Missouri and most hemp currently is grown outside of the state. It would also require hemp products to be sold in licensed cannabis dispensaries, where most are currently sold in gas stations, liquor stores and restaurants and smoke shops.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Republican state Rep. Matthew Overcast of Ava said he has \u201cno concerns\u201d about the federal language impacting the hemp industry. He plans on continuing to push his <\/span>proposed constitutional amendment<\/span><\/a> that would overturn the current regulatory framework for the cannabis industry and instead allow marijuana and intoxicating hemp products to be sold in the same stores as alcohol and tobacco.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHistorically, there\u2019s been this softened congressional enforcement of our federally illicit marijuana programs that have regulated programs across the nation,\u201d he said. \u201cEven if the language were to stand, I don\u2019t see \u2014 outside of big marijuana continuing to try to influence congressional and state legislators and state agencies \u2014 that we\u2019re going to see federal enforcement on hemp.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Democratic state Sen. Karla May of St. Louis pre-filed a <\/span>bill<\/span><\/a> that would allow intoxicating hemp products to continue to be sold outside of dispensaries with a $1,000 registration fee annually. Her bill does not include the federal definition, she said, because it was drafted before the spending package went through. May called her bill a \u201cstarting point.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Through it all, intoxicating hemp businesses \u2014 along with companies that assist them \u2014 are trying to figure out what their future might look like.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThink about your bank, your payroll company, your merchant processor \u2014 they may not want to wait out the 365 days,\u201d said Jessica Velazquez, a Las Vegas-based accountant with Beach Fleishman, during a November webinar for hemp businesses. \u201cThey may take a more conservative approach and say, \u2018Hey, you know, this really is like [marijuana] and maybe we don\u2019t want to service you anymore\u2019 in the way that they currently are now.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n \t<\/p>\n Hemp and marijuana are essentially terms the government uses to distinguish between the part of the cannabis plant that has high amounts of THC.<\/span><\/p>\n Hemp has previously been defined as any part of the plant containing 0.3% or less <\/span>delta-9 THC<\/span> by dry weight.<\/span><\/p>\n Last month, a provision in the federal spending bill amended the <\/span>definition of hemp<\/span><\/a>, changing the limit to a total THC concentration of less than .3% on a dry weight basis, rather than only delta-9 THC. It also prohibits products from containing more than 0.4 milligrams of THC per container.<\/span><\/p>\n The changes address some of the concerns Congress heard from groups like the <\/span>Cannabis Regulators Association<\/span><\/a>, which represents state marijuana regulators across the nation.<\/span><\/p>\n The association submitted information to Congress in a<\/span> 2023 report <\/span><\/a>stating that many hemp businesses are selling \u201cTHCA hemp\u201d flower, or buds, containing less than 0.3% delta-9 THC.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHowever, cannabis plants produce THCA, not THC,\u201d the report states.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n When the plant is smoked, the THCA converts or decarboxylates into delta-9 THC \u2013 and that\u2019s why every state marijuana program defines THC in terms of both THCA and delta-9 THC, regulators said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n THCA products \u2013 including flower, vape cartridges and concentrates \u2013 are \u201cindistinguishable\u201d from marijuana products sold in dispensaries, the association stated.<\/span><\/p>\n And that\u2019s why, regulators argued, there was a need to add language about total THC, instead of only delta-9.<\/span><\/p>\n Regarding weight, the association told Congress that the threshold of 0.3% delta-9 THC by weight is a small amount of THC in a hemp plant. However, when applied to things like chocolate bars or beverages that can weigh significantly more, 0.3% by weight can amount to hundreds of milligrams of THC.<\/span><\/p>\n The association gave the example of a 50-gram chocolate bar at 0.3% THC would have around 150 mg of THC \u2014 30 times the standard 5 mg THC dose established by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. A family sized pack of cookies weighing 20 oz can contain around 1,700 mg of THC using the 0.3% THC threshold.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe whole question was: what is hemp and what is marijuana?\u201d said Jack Cardetti, spokesman for the Missouri Cannabis Trade Association. \u201cThere was not a bright line there, and it was a line that obviously some bad actors have used to push intoxicating products that were completely unregulated.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The lack of government oversight on these products makes them a public health risk, Cardetti said. Now there is a \u201cclear bright line,\u201d he said, and he believes a majority of Missouri lawmakers will want to align with the federal definition.<\/span><\/p>\n The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee stated the changes were made to prevent \u201c<\/span>the unregulated sale of intoxicating<\/span><\/a>\u201d hemp products.<\/span><\/p>\n A <\/span>report<\/span><\/a> from the Congressional Research Service released this month states that it \u201cremains to be seen\u201d whether the FDA will opt to try and remove the products from the market or not.<\/span><\/p>\n The FDA and DEA, in coordination with the Department of Justice, \u201chave a range of civil and criminal remedies they may use in efforts to exercise control over these activities,\u201d it states.<\/span><\/p>\n It also says these federal agencies, \u201cmay lack the resources to broadly enforce the laws prohibiting intoxicating hemp products on the market.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Congress may also choose to exercise oversight over federal enforcement priorities regarding state-regulated cannabis activities, the report says. It took that step with medical marijuana, when it prohibited spending money on enforcement.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cCongress can say that, \u2018FDA and DEA, we prohibit you from using federal dollars to enforce against state-compliant hemp programs,\u2019\u201d said Craig Small, a Denver-based cannabis attorney.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n With the federal limits, Small said hemp companies could run into the same banking and tax issues that marijuana companies do \u2014 where there are no business tax deductions allowed and banks largely won\u2019t take them as customers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n How much priority federal agencies need to put on enforcing hemp-derived products seemed to be a \u201csubtext\u201d of Trump\u2019s <\/span>executive order<\/span><\/a> to reschedule marijuana, Small said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It ordered his administration to work with Congress to develop a framework that permits full-spectrum CBD products, which have a trace amount of THC. Those products \u201cwill once again be controlled as marijuana,\u201d under the federal spending bill\u2019s provision, the executive order states.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n However, it also states the regulatory framework should preserve Congress\u2019 \u201cintent to restrict the sale of products that pose serious health risks.\u201d<\/p>\n And it orders federal health agencies to \u201cdevelop research methods and models utilizing real-world evidence to improve access to hemp-derived cannabinoid products.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt does signal to the industry that if we were on a DEFCON 1 before, we\u2019re now on DEFCON 3,\u201d Small said. \u201cWhatever arguments law enforcement want to make on a federal or state level about the danger of these products and how serious it is that we get them off the streets, I do think that\u2019s lessened a little bit with these instructions.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n \t<\/p>\n This will be the fourth year in a row that Missouri lawmakers have attempted to regulate intoxicating hemp products, with previous debates ending in stalemates.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n May said she\u2019s planning on sitting down with Gregory to talk about how to move forward this legislative session.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe really want to solve the issue,\u201d May said. \u201cThat\u2019s the key, so I want to make sure that everybody\u2019s on the same page saying the same thing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Under May\u2019s bill, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services would be tasked with establishing rules on potency limits, recall procedures of dangerous products, advertising standards and \u201ccreate mechanisms for compliance and enforcement.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n May led a <\/span>seven-hour bipartisan filibuster<\/span><\/a> in April against a bill similar to Gregory\u2019s, after arguing it was nothing more than an attempt by the marijuana industry to stomp out its competition.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt reminds me so much of a street drug war,\u201d May said during an April Senate floor debate. \u201cAll drugs have always been about distribution and territory. And this is no different.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The <\/span>department has previously put a high price tag<\/span><\/a> on proposals that create separate rules for intoxicating hemp and marijuana products.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Republican state Rep. Dave Hinman of O\u2019Fallon led a <\/span>similar effort <\/span><\/a>as May to license hemp business during the last legislative session, but he said he will file a bill that aligns with the new federal definition.<\/span><\/p>\n Overcast\u2019s constitutional amendment would replace the marijuana legalization amendment approved by voters in 2022 with language that instructs Missouri lawmakers to create regulations that are no more burdensome than what we already have for alcohol and tobacco.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The amendment is nearly identical to four <\/span>initiative petitions<\/span><\/a> filed in <\/span>September and bankrolled by American Shaman<\/span><\/a> owner Vince Sanders and some other major hemp business owners. While the petitions have been approved to circulate for signatures, the effort has been put on pause, said Eapen Thampy, a lobbyist for American Shaman.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAlthough we were successful at securing some commitments,\u201d Thampy said, \u201cit wasn\u2019t to the level where we felt comfortable moving forward with a full fledged signature campaign.\u201d<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Slaphappy Hemp farm in Rosebud (photo submitted). Businesses and Missouri lawmakers are scrambling to understand what will happen in November, when new federal limits on intoxicating hemp products go into effect. It\u2019s unclear just how proactive the federal government will be enforcing the new restrictions. Will it clamp down, or like it has with marijuana,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8341,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8340","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat is the law?<\/h4>\n
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Lawmakers weigh in<\/h4>\n
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