Kimberly Abner, Federalsburg’s mayor, said that they were forced to sell their farm. “We are not growing this season because they’re basically driving Maryland hemp farmers out to sea .”
By Bryan P. Sears of Maryland Matters
Federalsburg’s mayor said that the legalization of marijuana in Maryland has forced her and her husband, who own an Eastern Shore hemp farm, to sell their business.
Kimberly Abner and her husband Ken have been running a small hemp-based business for three years, making gummy products and vapes. She said that the bill legalizing adult-use recreational marijuana is driving them off the market.
“I am the face of a business that you have just closed down.” Abner said, “I have a Maryland Hemp Farm,” directing her remarks to House Economic Matters Chairman Del. C.T. Wilson (D, Charles) at a cannabis symposium organized by the Maryland Municipal League. “I run a business which sells hemp products that are federally legal, but my stores now call me to remove the product from their stores due to this bill.”
Abner and husband wanted to get into the medical cannabis industry in the state, but they were unable obtain one of those coveted licenses.
Abner said in an interview that “since we didn’t receive a license we chose hemp products as we could enter the market, and we are able to legally sell and grow it within the state of Maryland.”
Cannamedus is a small business that has been selling vape and gummy delta-8 and 9 products to stores and smoke shops on the Eastern Shore. The company also offers a range of topical creams, lotions, and tinctures.
As with cannabis, hemp contains over 100 cannabinoids, including some that have intoxicating properties.
Delta-9, the main intoxicant found in cannabis, can also be found in hemp. Maryland had legalized products containing this substance if it was less than 0.3%.
According to the Federal Drug Administration, Delta-8 is another cannabinoid that can have an intoxicating effect.
Hemp products are not subject to the same regulations and requirements as cannabis products until 2023.
The Abner Farm is barren this year.
Abner said, “We have to sell our farm.” “We are not growing this season because they are basically putting Maryland hemp growers out of business.”
Wilson was the main sponsor of the 2023 legislation which allowed for recreational cannabis to be sold legally this summer. Since July, nearly $90,000,000 in sales have been recorded by the state. State taxes these sales at a rate of 9 percent.
The state’s hemp business filed a suit last month in an attempt to overturn the portions of the bill that have caused some businesses, like Abner’s, to close.
Abner’s business is part of an association that is among the plaintiffs, but she is not named in the lawsuit.
She claimed that the state unfairly targets her business, despite it selling a product that is federally legal.
Wilson stated that the word “federally legal” is used very loosely. You’re correct, the federal government hasn’t yet made it illegal, but we as a state have the right and responsibility to ensure that our constituents remain safe. If none of it has been tested yet, we have the right to ensure that everything people consume or put into their bodies is checked. We have the right to determine what is considered an intoxicant, and what is not. As I’m certain you know, the lawsuit will resolve this issue.
Abner claimed that her products were tested, and she provided reports as proof.
New conditions were also established for the hemp industry in the state. A farming bill that was passed five years ago legalized hemp, a cannabis plant low in THC.
The Maryland law has lowered the maximum amount of THC in hemp products to below federal standards.
Hemp farmers who want to continue selling in Maryland will need to obtain a license as a cannabis processor or grower.
By the end of this year, a first round of licenses to increase the number of minorities within the industry will be awarded.
Agents from the Alcohol, Tobacco and Cannabis Commission of the State are currently visiting stores and ordering items off the shelves.
Wilson said, “We have two offices to deal with individuals who have licenses, and those without licenses, so that we can get rid of some goofy smokeshops selling CBD which is, I don’t know, fake marijuana, as you know this Delta-8, Delta-6, and Delta-9,” he explained. “We wanted our citizens to know that the products they consumed were safe, tested and regulated.”
This article was originally published by Maryland Matters.
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The article Marijuana Legalization in Maryland is Pushing One City Mayor out of the Hemp Business first appeared on Marijuana Moment.
