State limitations threaten hemp-derived THC after Farm Bill boom

The freewheeling days for hemp-derived THC in America appear to be dwindling.After a seven-year boom for hemp-derived THC products, lawmakers are pursuing blanket bans or disruptively strict regulations on intoxicating hemp products in about a dozen states, a situation that’s sowing deep anxieties across the industry, advocates and operators told MJBizDaily.

ADVERTISEMENT In contrast to the blanket ban on hemp-THC products imposed last fall in California, little of the nationwide hemp crackdown seems immediately poised to help struggling operators in the regulated marijuana industry who saw hemp as an unwelcome competitor playing by different rules.In some of the new restrictive laws, hemp operators see the hand of an alcohol industry aware that young people are drinking less and keen to capture a future revenue source.

“We’re under fire from a lot of different sources,” said Jonathan Miller, the counsel-in-charge of the U.S.Hemp Roundtable, a major federal-level lobby group.

“There are a number of states that are looking at completely banning retail sales of our products.” How some states are addressing hemp-derived THC State laws under consideration that would disrupt the hemp industry include: California: An extension of emergency regulations that outlaws all hemp-derived THC.Texas: A blanket ban on anything containing hemp-derived THC.

Florida: A ban on synthetic THC and restrictions on hemp-derived Delta-9 THC.Georgia: A ban on hemp beverages as well as restrictions on synthetic THC such as delta-8 and delta-10 THC.

Arkansas, Kentucky, Montana, Tennessee: The imposition of a mandatory third-party distribution model – similar to what’s seen in the alcohol industry – as well as bans on direct-to-consumer sales. ADVERTISEMENT While the bans are destructive to the entire sector, some smaller hemp operators are raising specific alarms over the third...