Minnesota’s hemp-produced THC beverage and edible industry reels from provision to outlaw products in shutdown bill 

Minnesota s booming industry of intoxicating products made by hemp including beverages and gummies are reeling from the ban on their products that is making its way through Congress in a bill that would reopen the federal governing body The bill gives the industry days before all products that contain more than milligrams of THC a trace amount are outlawed Christopher Lackner president of the Hemp Beverages Alliance is hoping that gives the industry time to lobby against the provision which he called arbitrary and punitive He stated he s betting on a pushback from consumers suppliers and distributors and everyone else in the supply chain that will be impacted by the impending ban on hemp-produced THC-infused products Our hope as an industry is that Congress will come back and meet with all of the stakeholders and build a federal framework for hemp beverages that works Lackner disclosed The Farm Bill legalized hemp by removing it from the federal definition of marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act and treating it as an agricultural commodity It also opened the door to the production of intoxicating products derived from hemp Related Beer industry joins renewed push for feds to rein in THC-infused drinks threatening lucrative Minnesota industry Minnesota led the nation in taking advantage of the redefinition of hemp Whitney Economics latest THC Beverage Overview estimated that total U S THC beverage sales topped billion in with Minnesota being a key state in this improvement Success has come at a price however Competing industries mostly the nation s nascent legal marijuana industry and more in the last few days the beer and spirits industries lobbied furiously to close what they considered a loophole in the farm bill that has led to the explosion of hemp-infused products The marijuana and alcohol industries say hemp products are largely unregulated and particular contain dangerously high amounts of THC They also say there are no labeling and marketing restrictions or efforts to keep THC-infused drinks and edibles from children On Monday the Beer Institute the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States and other alcohol contract groups sent a lobbying letter to members of Congress urging them to reject an amendment by Sen Rand Paul R-Ky that would have stripped the language from the shutdown bill Manufacturers of beverage alcohol one of the greater part highly regulated consumer products urge the Senate to reject Paul s attempts to allow hemp-derived THC products to be sold devoid of federal regulation and oversight across the country the letter reported Their argument won the day The regulation that would end the shutdown contains three appropriations bills to fund several regime agencies through fiscal year including the U S Department of Agriculture and that s where the hemp provision was inserted All other federal agencies would receive short-term funding until the end of January under a continuing resolution or CR While the hemp industry lost its lobbying fight it did have supporters in the U S Capitol Paul for instance prevented Senate GOP leaders from obtaining unanimous consent to fast-track the shutdown bill which overcame a six-week Democratic filibuster Sunday evening on a - vote The U S Senate voted to table or reject Paul s amendment on a - vote Minnesota Sens Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith were in the minority supporting the effort to strip out the hemp language Senator Klobuchar voted against the hemp provision because she thought it would hurt the state s small businesses and believes efforts by Congress to regulate hemp products should account for states like Minnesota that already have strong regulations in place a spokesman for Klobuchar mentioned Lackner also explained that lawmakers in Congress were trampling on the rights of states to regulate intoxicating hemp products This is a slap in the face of states like Minnesota that have developed regulatory frameworks based on stakeholder input he stated Hemp change wrong from every angle Steve Brown CEO of Nothing but Hemp a company in northeast Minneapolis that makes THC-infused gummies and beverages emulsions for breweries and multiple other hemp-based products declared the shutdown bill may drive him to cross over to the marijuana industry That s because if the decree is signed into law by President Donald Trump as expected the manufacture and sale of his products will be illegal under federal law with a huge impact on his industry Brown disclosed liquor stores could no longer offer his drinks on their shelves Small breweries which have tried to combat a drop in beer sales by offering THC-infused drinks that are more popular than alcohol among the young would also be latest federal law if they continued to offer those libations And retail stores including Target would likely stop selling THC-infused beverages and other products because customers would no longer be able to pay for them with their credit cards due to federal banking regulations Shipping THC-infused products across the state lines would also be against federal law I think it s wrong from every angle Brown announced of the hemp provision in the shutdown act Brown explained he manufactures close to million cans of beverages a year and that his operation of THC-infused drinks is small compared to other companies in Minnesota He noted he started his business at a kiosk with a sign that reported Try CBD a hemp component that is not intoxicating and is touted for its medicinal value If hemp-infused drinks and edibles are outlawed Brown says he s preparing to turn Nothing but Hemp which has employees into a marijuana business Jim Taylor spokesman for the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management announced it is reviewing any draft or proposed hemp language for its impact on Minnesota This is a complex guidelines issue and we are reviewing it with the Attorney General Taylor stated Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison of late signed a letter with other attorneys general that mentioned unregulated THC products pose a threat to the general masses David Ladd president of the Minnesota Industrial Hemp Association reported his group has tried to stay as neutral as practicable on the issue But he disclosed the state s hemp growers also do not want to stifle innovation and venture in hemp which can be used to produce a wide variety of products including biofuels paper and textiles I get regulations and guard rails for hemp products Ladd stated But an arbitrary change in the definition of hemp is not a substitute for measured regulation Related Was a bill to legalize hemp THC edibles in Minnesota intentionally kept under wraps to ensure passage The U S Senate gave final approval of the shutdown bill late Monday Now the statute heads to the U S House where Minnesota s Democratic House members are expected to join the state s two Democratic senators Klobuchar and Smith in rejecting the bill So the longest ruling body shutdown is on the way to an end after eight moderate Democrats in the U S Senate dropped their opposition to the bill They mentioned GOP leaders offered a fair deal because the measure would protect programs from Trump budget cuts and Senate Leader John Thune promised a vote on the extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies Democrats had sought to in return for their votes to reopen the administration That provoked an onslaught of criticisms from Democratic colleagues and Democratic voters Rep Angie Craig D- nd District for instance posted on social media that if people believe this is a deal I have a bridge to sell you The post Minnesota s hemp-produced THC beverage and edible industry reels from provision to outlaw products in shutdown bill appeared first on MinnPost