California health officials are moving to make permanent the state’s emergency ban on hemp-derived THC products.
If the proposed rules published Friday by the state Department of Public Health become law later this summer, “no detectable THC” will be allowed in “hemp food, food additives, beverages, and dietary supplements intended for human consumption.”
That’s the current state of affairs since Gov. Gavin Newsom pushed for an emergency ban last fall.
The ban has since been extended until at least June.
Under the moratorium:
- Popular hemp-derived THC beverages and other products with THC are strictly banned.
- Customers seeking intoxicating THC products must shop at state-licensed marijuana retailers.
So far, state data shows, the ban appears to be working – but at a significant cost.
According to the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, products containing hemp-derived THC such as beverages and gummies have vanished from store shelves, with merchants in nearly total compliance with the new ban.
However, the ban will cost California businesses $602 million over the first year of the ban, SFGate reported, citing a state estimate.
The ban also will likely lead to the closure of at least 115 businesses and cost nearly 19,000 jobs over five years.
Newsom, the state’s Democratic governor who also had a hand in adult-use marijuana legalization, pushed for the ban after seeing intoxicating hemp-derived THC products for sale at a mainstream retailer near his home.
California’s intoxicating hemp ban, 0ne of the strictest in the nation, was seen as a boon to licensed marijuana businesses concerned with competition from less-taxed, less-regulated hemp alternatives.
The state’s plan to make the ban permanent comes as more states take action to regulate hemp-derived THC products that have proliferated at retailers and online since the 2018 Farm Bill.
Congressional lawmakers are also keen to close what they say is an unintended loophole.
