Missouri Debate On Regulating Intoxicating Hemp Products Begins, With Marijuana Group Backing THC Drinks Compromise

“This bill will still, even with the hemp beverage carveout, shut down hundreds of Missouri businesses and cost hundreds of Missourians their jobs.”

By Rebecca Rivas, Missouri Independent

Arguably the biggest opponent of unregulated intoxicating hemp products said it’s willing to concede to allowing hemp-THC drinks to continue to be sold in grocery and liquor stores.

“We are working through and very excited about the possibility of developing a carveout for low-THC hemp drinks,” said Tom Robbins, a lobbyist for the Missouri Cannabis Trade Association (MoCann) during a Senate committee hearing Wednesday.

The legislative battle to regulate intoxicating hemp products kicked off Wednesday with a hearing on Republican state Sen. Nick Schroer’s bill to treat hemp-derived THC edibles, vapes and beverages the same as marijuana—meaning under the Division of Cannabis Regulation’s rules and exclusively sold in dispensaries.

Robbins announced MoCann’s proposed amendment to cap the amount of THC at 5 milligrams per can and exclude drinks made with “synthetic” THC, or THC that has been converted from CBD using a chemical process.

Schroer confirmed a plan is in the works to include this language in a committee substitute that may come up to vote within the next few weeks.

“We will more than likely have some sort of compromise language to use that existing framework within the Missouri Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control on some of these low-dose products,” Schroer said.

However, Brooklyn Hill, president of the Missouri Hemp Trade Association, said MoCann’s carveout is “not a solution to the problem.”

“This bill will still, even with the hemp beverage carveout, shut down hundreds of Missouri businesses and cost hundreds of Missourians their jobs,” Hill said.

Schroer’s legislation is among several to regulate products made with hemp-derived THC.

Currently, delta-8 THC products—including a large variety of drinks that are popular at bars and available at gas stations throughout the state—can be sold in Missouri stores because the intoxicating ingredient is derived from hemp, not marijuana.

Hemp is federally legal.

There’s no state or federal law saying teenagers or children can’t buy them or stores can’t sell them to minors—though some stores and vendors have taken it upon themselves to impose age restrictions of 21 and up.

“What the products contain really we do not know because it’s not regulated,” Julie Weber, director of the Missouri Poison Center, told the Senate committee, “and that’s where we’ve come into some very serious exposures where children have ended up unresponsive and on ventilators.”

All proposed bills include age restrictions.

The proposal backed by the hemp association would limit beverages and edibles to 100 mg of THC per serving, saying that some people who use the products medicinally require a higher dose. It directs the Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control to regulate hemp licensees.

Among the other proposals is the beer wholesalers’ legislation, sponsored by Republican state Rep. Barry Hovis of Whitewater, which lays out regulations only for hemp beverages. It would also establish the same three-tier distribution system that the alcohol industry has long abided by.

The Missouri Hemp Trade Association believes vehemently opposes establishing the three-tier system, saying it would create a monopoly on behalf of the distributors.

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On Wednesday, Hill spoke about her father’s business, Dave’s Doobies, in Bunker, a town of about 300 people. His manufacturing and distributing company produces vapes and gummies, among other products.

“It’s incredible to see my dad, hero of my childhood, build a legacy from the ground up,” she said, “one in a small town that can help employ what’s normally poverty.”

Hill said Schroer’s bill would devastate her father’s business, as long with hundreds of others.

Rick McGavock, owner of Popcorn Dispensary in Hermann, said it would destroy his business as well—and he has nothing to do with the cannabis industry.

A line in Schroer’s bill states that “no person or entity” other than licensed marijuana facilities can conduct business under a name that contains the word “dispensary” or any word similar.

McGavock and his partner, Nicole Woods, just opened in June, after settling on the name and finding a location.

“We poured our blood, sweat and literal tears into building this business,” McGavock said. “Our name has become an integral part of our brand. This bill puts our business and the livelihoods of our 10 employees at risk. These are real people with families, so rebranding is not an option.”

McGavock was scheduled to meet with Schroer after the hearing.

The hearing room was packed with people waiting to testify on the bill, most of whom did not get to speak when the hearing was limited to one hour.

This story was first published by Missouri Independent.

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