“When Florida passed the hemp program in 2004, it wasn’t in anticipation that Floridians would consume highly intoxicating, and sometimes psychoactive substances.”
By Mitch Perry, Florida Phoenix
The Florida Senate unanimously approved a measure on Thursday regulating hemp products in Florida . It is expected that the House will also move forward with the regulations. Officials in the hemp industry are worried about the worst: a damaging blow to their livelihoods.
The Senate bill ( S 1698 ) would limit the amount of THC allowed in products derived from hemp sold in smoke shops in Florida. THC is the primary component of cannabis that produces the “high”.
This measure also prohibits the sale and distribution of Delta-8 products. These are among the most popular products sold by these retailers since they were introduced to the market in Florida shortly after the hemp program was implemented in 2019. It would also prohibit businesses from owning hemp extracts that are deemed “attractive” by children. Colleen Burton, a Republican senator from Central Florida, is the sponsor of this bill.
Delta-8 THC, according to the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA), is banned or severely restricted in 17 states.
Burton said the bill was needed to protect Floridians’ safety.
She said, “When we passed this hemp program, we did not anticipate that Floridians would consume highly intoxicating, and sometimes psychoactive substances,” on the Senate floor, on Wednesday when the bill was up for discussion. “I believe that the concerns we had about potential misuse of this product has exceeded our expectations.” We have passed this bill to continue the protections we began in our last session.
On Thursday, the next day, the measure passed.
Hemp products are now subject to THC limits. Individual servings can’t exceed 2 milligrams and containers cannot surpass 10 milligrams.
The bill has received bipartisan support.
Tracie Davis, a Jacksonville Democrat Senator, said on Thursday that “we do need to add regulation to a product – especially in the cannabis/sativa area – to protect Floridians. I think you’re doing this, and I’m eager to support this legislation.”
Burton sponsored legislation in the 2023 session which originally included limitations on hemp products. However, after strong opposition from the industry and Floridians, who claimed to use the product for physical pain relief, the final version simply banned the sale of these products to those under 21. The law also prohibited marketing to children, as well as packaging that could appeal to kids.
The bill passed by the Senate on Friday also contains more provisions to make hemp products less appealing to children. The bill defines attractive as “products that are packaged or manufactured in containers that display humans, cartoons or animals, toys, or other features specifically targeted at children.
A bill requires that, before an event at which hemp products will be sold or marketed by businesses, the organizer of the event must give the Department of Agriculture of the state a list of all the businesses that are selling or marketing the hemp extract products and confirm that each of these businesses is only selling products that come from approved sources. The organizer of the event must make sure that all participating businesses are properly licensed.
Burton added that the Department of Law Enforcement would receive $2 million non-recurring funds for the purchase of equipment to test substances that could be seized.
According to an analysis by Whitney Economics, the total sales of hemp businesses in Florida were more than $10 billion dollars in 2022. The report stated that approximately 104,000 people are employed in the hemp industry, earning wages of over $3.6 billion per year.
Republicans are not sympathetic to the concerns of those in the hemp industry who have voiced their concerns over the last two legislative sessions.
Kathleen Passidomo, Senate President, told reporters Wednesday after the Senate’s session. It was very well thought out. You can tell Sen. Burton took a lot of her time to study the bill and listen to all stakeholders in committee. She ended up with an excellent bill. So I’m not worried about it.”
Tommy Gregory of Manatee County, Republican and sponsor of the House bill ( HB 1613) said this week he had no concern about the legislation’s impact on the hemp industry.
He said: “I do not concede that it will have a negative impact on businesses, or revenues derived from taxation based on these businesses.”
The House bill was approved by the Infrastructure Strategies Committee Thursday afternoon. It will now be voted on in the House. If the bill is approved, Governor Ron DeSantis (R) will sign it into law. If approved there, Gov.
The Florida Phoenix published this story first.
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Photo by Kimzy Nanny.
The article Florida Senate passes bill to restrict hemp products and ban Delta-8 THC first appeared on Marijuana Moment.
