JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – The Missouri Hemp Trade Association is taking the state of Missouri to court over an administrative rule meant to curb the sale of hemp products that are crafted to act like marijuana, known as “intoxicating cannabinoids.”
“Enough is enough,” said MOHTA spokesperson Craig Katz. “Today, the Missouri Hemp Trade Association (MOHTA) was forced to act, filing a lawsuit to immediately stop the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) from seizing industrial hemp products from stores across the state – products that are protected by the State’s constitution and its statutes.”
The lawsuit challenges the Department of Health and Senior Services’ plan to begin labeling intoxicating hemp products as “adulterated” starting Sunday, despite the rejection of an emergency order that would have empowered state agencies to remove any food or drinks that contain the unregulated form of THC from store shelves and impose penalties on any sellers.
“DHSS has no authority whatsoever to confiscate any industrial hemp goods from store shelves,” Katz said. “A memo from DHSS proclaimed that the Department would begin its unconstitutional enforcement on Sunday, September 1st. MOHTA has filed the lawsuit to protect Missouri citizens from an overzealous and overreaching state government.”
Gov. Mike Parson submitted multiple versions of an executive order on Aug. 1 to restrict sales. The emergency order was rejected by the Secretary of State’s office for failure to demonstrate an emergency under state statute. Meanwhile, the non-emergency version of the rule is now undergoing the months-long administrative rules process.
Thursday’s DHSS memo indicated that the agency would begin enforcement using its authority under the Missouri Food Code. That process involves DHSS labeling intoxicating hemp products as “adulterated.”
Attorneys for the MOHTA point to a section in state statute that shields any hemp products from being considered adulterated, including “hemp commodities and products and topical or ingestible animal and consumer products derived from industrial hemp.”
Revised Statutes of Missouri 196.070.2 states:
“A food shall not be considered adulterated solely for containing industrial hemp, or an industrial hemp commodity or product.”
Additionally, RSMo 195.010.24 defines “industrial hemp as:
(24) “Industrial hemp”:
(a) All nonseed parts and varieties of the Cannabis sativa L. plant, growing or not, that contain an average delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentration that does not exceed three-tenths of one percent on a dry weight basis or the maximum concentration allowed under federal law, whichever is greater;
(b) Any Cannabis sativa L. seed that is part of a growing crop, retained by a grower for future planting, or used for processing into or use as agricultural hemp seed;
(c) Industrial hemp includes industrial hemp commodities and products and topical or ingestible animal and consumer products derived from industrial hemp with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than three-tenths of one percent on a dry weight basis;”
A spokesperson for the DHSS said the agency does not comment on pending cases.
Gov. Parson said he believes such products present a danger to the public as long as they remain outside the regulatory power of the state.
In his executive order, Parson said “Missouri children, and children across the nation, have been hospitalized due to consuming unregulated psychoactive cannabis products,” but the administration has not provided any data to indicate a rise in cases of child exposure to intoxicating hemp products in Missouri.
The number of annual cannabis poisoning incidents in Missouri went from 237 in 2018 to 512 in late 2023, according to data collected by the DHSS from ERs and Inpatient sources. Missouri Poison Control Centers reported 197 cannabis exposure reports in 2018, rising to 709 in 2023.
Importantly, these figures reflect reported exposures to all forms of cannabis, not only the hemp-derived version. Also, this time period covers Missouri’s adoption of the regulated cannabis market.
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The Missouri Hemp Trade Association is taking the state of Missouri to court over an administrative rule meant to curb the sale of hemp products that are crafted to act like marijuana. Read More