Ashley Guy runs a smoke shop in Tallahassee. She says she’s thrived since she moved from Seattle to Florida five years ago, with profits of more than $5 million from the sales of cannabis hemp products. But if a new proposal in the Florida Legislature passes, “this would just decimate business” she said on Tuesday.
She added that if the caps on THC on hemp products— the compound in the plant associated with getting you high — were imposed, customers would simply buy multiple packages of “gummies,” or would buy higher dose products online from other states.
Guy and other hemp entrepreneurs are back in the Legislature in 2024, fighting again to ensure they can continue to make a living in the hemp industry. But on Tuesday, lawmakers in a committee decided to impose restrictions on hemp products and substantially regulate the hemp market in Florida.
That was met with strong opposition by members of the industry, but nonetheless, the legislation (SB 1698) passed unanimously in the Senate Agriculture Committee. (Keep in mind that lawmakers in the House and Senate need to agree to be able to pass the legislation.)
The measure is being sponsored by Polk County Republican Colleen Burton.
It would make a number of changes to the hemp industry in the state, which has operated legally since 2019, shortly after the passage of the 2018 U.S. farm bill. That bill made hemp production and distribution legal under federal law and allowed states to create such programs. The farm bill defined hemp as the cannabis plant with one key difference: hemp cannot contain more than 0.3 percent of THC.
The most lucrative part of the hemp industry has involved the production of biomass that contains cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychoactive compound believed to treat health conditions like anxiety, stress, anxiety and inflation.
Several changes
Burton’s bill attempts to make several changes to current law, according to a legislative staff analysis.
- It would set THC limits in hemp products to not exceed 2 milligrams per serving and 10 milligrams per container.
- It modifies the definition of hemp products that cannot be “attractive to children” to include containers displaying toys, novel shapes, animations, promotional characters, licensed characters, or other features that specifically target children, or, for hemp extracted intended for inhalation, the addition of any flavoring.
- Requires that an organizer hosting a hemp event to provide the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services with a list of the businesses selling or marketing hemp extract products at the event and verify that each business is only selling hemp products from an approved source. The event organizer must ensure that each participating business is properly permitted.
- Says that hemp extract may only be manufactured, delivered, held, offered for sale, distributed or sold in the state if it meets a number of requirements.
Speaking in support of the proposal was Dr. Justin Arnold, the medical director of the Florida Poison Information Center based in Tampa.
He said the bill would have a lasting and life-saving impact on Floridians across the state, and that in the past few years, the three poison centers located in the state “have watched exposures to hemp extracts result in more harm than ever, particularly in our children.”
Speakers blast the proposal
But the overwhelming majority of public speakers blasted the proposal, saying it could potentially cripple the burgeoning hemp industry in Florida, and urged lawmakers to kill it.
Vinnie Seudath, with the company Kushy Pies, said it was “arbitrary” for lawmakers to limit the THC dosage of hemp products.
“These limits would put a significant burden on businesses and stakeholders in the hemp…
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