Missouri lawmakers are grappling with the regulation of hemp-derived intoxicating merchandise, because the Senate hears testimony on the Intoxicating Cannabinoid Management Act (Senate Invoice 54, SB54).
Sponsored by State Sen. Nick Schroer, the invoice goals to reclassify all intoxicating substances derived from hemp as cannbabis, subjecting them to the identical rules as hashish bought in licensed dispensaries.
Throughout a packed Senate listening to on Wednesday, January 24, 2025, stakeholders from each the hashish and hemp industries voiced their assist and opposition, highlighting the excessive stakes for Missouri companies and shoppers.
The laws comes amid rising considerations over unregulated hemp merchandise flooding comfort shops, gasoline stations, and on-line markets, typically marketed to youngsters, throughout the US.
Proponents, reminiscent of MoCannTrade, a commerce affiliation for Missouri’s hashish trade, say the measure aligns with the intent of the 2018 Farm Invoice, which federally legalized hemp and its non-intoxicating derivatives.
“If a compound from the hashish plant is intoxicating, it needs to be regulated as marijuana,” mentioned MoCann lobbyist Thomas Robbins.
Robbins additionally criticized the observe of chemically altering hemp-derived CBD to create potent artificial cannabinoids like delta-8 and delta-10 THC. These compounds, which skirt current rules, have flooded the market as merchandise labeled ‘eating regimen weed’ or ‘gasoline station pot,’ typically that includes packaging that mimics youngsters’s snacks.
Nevertheless, representatives of the hemp trade, such because the Missouri Hemp Commerce Affiliation, argue the invoice would devastate native companies. Brooklyn Hill, the affiliation’s president, mentioned the laws would “shut down a whole bunch of companies and price Missourians their jobs,” together with her father’s manufacturing firm in rural Missouri.
In a transfer to search out center floor, MoCannTrade has proposed an modification to permit the continued sale of low-dose hemp-THC drinks in grocery and liquor shops, capped at 5 milligrams of THC per serving. These drinks, nonetheless, should exclude synthetically derived THC. Schroer confirmed plans to include such language right into a substitute model of the invoice.
Regardless of this compromise, hemp advocates stay opposed. Hill criticized the carve-out as inadequate, whereas others, like lobbyist Eapen Thampy, voiced considerations about Missouri’s marijuana regulatory framework, which they declare is a ‘licensing monopoly’ that will unfairly pressure hemp companies out of the market.
