AG wants “intoxicating hemp” banned in new Farm Bill
Jackley: South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley is joining nearly two dozen of his counterparts across the nation in asking for a ban on the growing number of intoxicating hemp products, like these hemp-based THC seltzers available in a number of stores across the region.
The letter to Congress states, “Because of the ambiguity created by the 2018 Farm Bill, a massive gray market worth an estimated $28 billion has exploded, forcing cannabis-equivalent products into our economies regardless of states’ intentions to legalize cannabis use, and dangerously undermining regulations and consumer protections in states where adult-use legal cannabis programs are already in place.”
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By Carleen Wild
Moody County Enterprise
Illicit suppliers are stealing legitimate brand names and packaging harmful and dangerous products as candy, snacks, and cereal. hese copycat hemp products put people, especially children, at risk. They also jeopardize lawful hemp production for agricultural purposes here in South Dakota.
– Attorneys General Marty Jackley
A coalition of 21 Attorneys General, including South Dakota’s Marty Jackley, is asking Congress to fix language in the 2018 Farm Bill they say is being used by “bad actors” to market unregulated intoxicating hemp.
Congress removed hemp from the list of controlled substances in 2018. Since then, products containing THC derived from hemp — things like candy, vape pens, various other foods and beverages, have filled store shelves both locally and across the country.
Congress is currently working through a new five-year reauthorization of the Bill. As they do so, there is debate as to whether certain hemp products should be re-added to the list.
The coalition of Attorneys General believe that a 0.3% THC limit, which distinguishes industrial hemp from cannabis, isn’t enough for buyers to understand the potential for the high that can come from using the products.
The AG’s claim there are problems with misleading labels and also that many of the products are being used by people under 21.
“Illicit suppliers are stealing legitimate brand names and packaging harmful and dangerous products as candy, snacks, and cereal,” Jackley said, in a press release.
“These copycat hemp products put people, especially children, at risk. They also jeopardize lawful hemp production for agricultural purposes here in South Dakota.”
The Attorney Generals who are part of the letter are from Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington.
