The battle over hemp-derived drugs has already sparked up again at the Missouri Capitol.
A Missouri Senate Committee heard a bill Wednesday that would reclassify all products with intoxicating hemp-derived chemicals as marijuana. It is the next step in a long saga created by the confluence of the 2018 Farm Bill, Missouri’s constitutionally-regulated cannabis industry and attempted crackdowns on drugs that are derived from hemp.
The bill aims to bring hemp into the regulatory fold by subjecting it to the same rules as marijuana, which was made legal in Missouri after a ballot initiative.
Representatives of the hemp industry spoke in opposition to the bill.
“Senate Bill 54 would. . . make these products only accessible at the very limited number of marijuana dispensaries, which would effectively destroy hundreds, if not thousands, of businesses,” Eapen Thampy, a lobbyist for multiple Missouri hemp businesses, told KBIA.
Thampy said businesses in the industry want regulation but have concerns about how Missouri regulates its cannabis industry. Missouri voters approved the legalization of marijuana in 2022.
“The fact that the marijuana industry has a constitutional regulatory structure that is effectively a licensing monopoly is offensive to us,” Thampy said. “Especially the idea of taking businesses that are legal today and putting them out of business.”
Before 2018, the cannabis plant was basically federally illegal to grow in any form. But the 2018 Farm Bill separated it into two categories: if it’s made up of less than 0.3% of a chemical called delta-9 THC, it’s legal and called hemp.
Any more and it’s still marijuana and federally illegal.
That allowed for the creation of an industrial hemp industry that uses the less potent version of the crop for fiber and grain.
But it also opened the door for federally legal drugs made of other intoxicating chemicals found in hemp.
There are even delta-9 drugs that have skirted federal regulations. Their manufacturers argue that because either the harvested crop or final product have less than 0.3% of delta-9 THC by weight, it’s hemp-derived and legal.
Representatives of the marijuana industry spoke in support of the bill and closing what some call the “hemp loophole”
“They just chose a faulty threshold with limited science,” said Thomas Robbins, a lobbyist representing MoCannTrade, a marijuana trade association, in the hearing. “It’s at 0.3% delta-nine THC by dry weight when, in fact, there’s a whole universe of other intoxicating deltas.”
“So, enter the (Intoxicating Cannabinoid Control Act), which aligns with Congress’s original intent, and it says if the compound comes from the cannabis plant and is intoxicating, it’s marijuana and should be regulated as such,” he added. “If the compound comes from the cannabis plant and is not intoxicating, it is industrial hemp and should be deregulated pursuant to the 2018 Farm Bill.”
State Sen. Nick Schroer (R-O’Fallon) sponsored the bill and a similar one last year. During the hearing, he focused on keeping intoxicating cannabis products out of children’s reach.
“(The Farm Bill) led to an influx of intoxicating cannabis products derived from hemp currently sold without the stringent oversight that governs traditional marijuana products,” he said. “These products, accessible in our convenience stores, gas stations and even online, are being sold to kids.”
That was the same reason used by former Gov. Mike Parson last fall when he issued an executive order to crack down on hemp drugs. That has since been narrowed to focus on drugs with deceptive packaging.
The Missouri Hemp Trade Association has fought against efforts to ban hemp drugs, arguing they are open to regulation, and the industry has been self-regulating in the meantime.
Thampy said he supports a Missouri House bill that would tax hemp-derived products and create separate regulations around labeling, licensing and age restrictions.
The bill aims to bring hemp drugs into the regulatory fold by subjecting them to the same rules as marijuana. Read More
