The House Commerce Committee advanced a bill Tuesday to tighten regulations of hemp consumable THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) products sold in Florida. The hemp THC packaging tends to be appealing to children, causing the change.
Rep. Michelle Salzman (R-Escambia County) sponsored the bill (HB 7029). Rep. Salzman explained the bill and her reasoning to the committee.
"Bad actors from outside the state have been using the laws regulating the sale of hemp as a backdoor to sell products that are just as intoxicating or more intoxicating than Florida's medical marijuana program," Salzman said. "These bad actors are packaging their products to look like products that are marketed to children."
Salzman mentioned that the attractive packaging is similar to cereals, Doritos, and candy.
Hemp consumable THC product is defined as a "substance or compound intended for ingestion or inhalation and containing more than trace amounts of a cannabinoid." The cannabinoid is also derived from or consists of hemp or psychotropic cannabinoids.
"This bill stops the bad actors and ensures that our children are not at risk of ingesting products that can put them in the emergency room, while ensuring that we are not hurting legitimate businesses in Florida that wish to sell legitimate hemp products to adults," Salzman added.
HB 7029 would do several things:
- Creates a limit on the maximum amount of THC that can be in hemp consumable products
- Sets strict standards on marketing and packaging, including attractive labels to children
- Cannot imply you're going to get "high" from the product or have an intoxicating effect
- Require warning labels to include the poison control hotline
- End-of-line testing on products to ensure that hemp THC sold to consumers is not adulterated after the initial batch is tested
- Hemp THC products are sold in stores 21+. They can also be sold in gas stations and convenience stores out of the view or accessibility to minors.
- Regulations for the sale of online THC products are similar to the regulations of nicotine products sold online
The legislation also has a linked House bill (7027) that would create a 15% excise tax on the retail sale of hemp consumable THC products. HB 7029 is contingent on that bill passing.
If fully passed, the bill would take effect on July 1.
