Governor Signs Law Calling for Intoxicating Hemp Research, Future Rules

Colorado’s hemp and marijuana industries will soon have to hammer out rules for intoxicating hemp products and modified cannabinoids, two relatively new gray areas surrounding cannabis.

On May 31, Governor Jared Polis signed Senate Bill 205, which calls for establishing a twenty-member task force comprised of hemp and marijuana industry representatives, as well as government and consumer representatives. The members will be selected by the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division, with input from the state departments of Agriculture and Public Health and Environment. Under the new law, the task force will study products made with converted forms of THC, the main intoxicating compound in cannabis, as well as other cannabinoids, then make legislative and regulatory recommendations by next January.

The new law also gives the state the authority to restrict and prohibit the sale of modified or synthetic forms of THC in the future.

Hemp and marijuana are both cannabis plants, but differ in one key way: THC. If a hemp plant’s flowers or a final hemp product tests above 0.3 percent THC, it is considered marijuana by the federal government and must be destroyed or remediated. A variety of hemp plants have been selectively bred to produce low amounts of THC and high amounts of CBD, a non-intoxicating cannabinoid with medical benefits. However, CBD can be modified into different isomers of THC, including forms that aren’t explicitly banned by the federal government. [Read More @ Westword]