KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) – The hemp industry will be a big talking point for lawmakers in this general assembly. Lawmakers have proposed removing some items from shelves, but now there is a bill to give the Alcoholic Beverage Commission the power to regulate the hemp industry.
The Blom Shop owner, Travis McKinney, said this would harm the hemp industry.
“It’ll put everybody out of business,” McKinney said.
The current legislation from State Senator Richard Briggs would allow the Alcoholic Beverage Commission to regulate the manufacturing, supplying, wholesale distribution and retail sale of hemp-derived cannabinoids. They’d also be able to create licenses for wholesale suppliers and retailers and establish taxes on the products.
McKinney said this would bring a massive change to the hemp industry.
“We can’t run a store like the Blom Shop which I own. The doors won’t be open. It’s going to go through alcohol, be sold in liquor stores. There’s still debate if they’ll sell it back to us at the shops,” McKinney said.
State Senator Richard Briggs, R-Knox County, said this is not the case and it’s about providing more regulation on the hemp industry.
“It really dealt with the enforcement and someone who can go in and do stings to see if they’re selling it to underage people,” Briggs said.
Previously, Briggs said the Department of Agriculture would help regulate the industry. He added the department did not feel equipped to do it, but the ABC could.
“It just made a lot more sense for them to do it and they were willing to do it,” Briggs said. “We wanted to consolidate that to a smaller more controlled area.”
WVLT News reached out the Alcoholic Beverage Commission about the current proposed legislation.
“A recently filed bill proposes placing the regulation of intoxicating hemp products under the oversight of the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC). This bill is in the very early stages of the legislative process, and we are actively discussing many details internally.
TABC has extensive experience regulating intoxicating products to ensure they are sold and distributed in a manner that protects public safety. The fundamental legal framework of regulating an intoxicating product through a licensing system designed to balance consumer access with public safety is well established in alcohol regulation. Many businesses that currently hold ABC licenses also sell hemp products, so having a single agency regulate both would be not only convenient for businesses but also an efficient approach for state government. Additionally, many other states have taken this approach, placing these products under their alcohol regulatory agencies due to the similarities in oversight and enforcement.
We believe this new responsibility would closely align with our current work, making it a natural extension of our regulatory role. Given our experience, we do not anticipate that taking on this responsibility would be overly difficult. If tasked with overseeing these products, we would apply the same principles of accountability, enforcement, and industry education to ensure responsible distribution and compliance with the law.”
McKinney disagrees with this commission and Briggs.
“They have no business to be in the hemp industry. They don’t know anything about it,” McKinney said.
This legislation comes as there’s also a lawsuit between hemp growers in the state and the Department of Agriculture.
The DOA created rules to remove THC products from stores, but the hemp growers organization filed an injunction to stop the rules.
The injunction is expected to last until June.
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