“It reminds me so much of a street drug war…where you got these people over here saying you can’t infringe on my territory.”
By Rebecca Rivas, Missouri Independent
St. Louis Alderman Shane Cohn did not hear from the locals or industry leaders much when he introduced legislation in St. Louis last year to control hemp-based products that are intoxicating.
Cohn is a Democrat from the southern part of St. Louis. He said that he did not receive any calls, emails, etc. when introducing this issue at last’s session. “And then all of a sudden, it’s like everyone is coming out of the woodwork—and I haven’t even requested a hearing on this yet.”
He would ban the sale outside of marijuana-dispensaries of edibles, beverages or other products derived from hemp that contain THC. Intoxicating hemp products, sometimes labeled as “delta-8,” have largely been unregulated in Missouri since 2018, when Congress passed a Farm Bill that legalized hemp.
He said that Cohn received calls this year from “every media outlet” as well as hemp drink distributors, edible hemp companies, and lobbyists.
The bill was introduced after a heated debate between St. Louis state senators over a similar proposition in spring.
Cohn’s bill contains the exact same words as legislation introduced by Nick Schroer (a Republican conservative state senator) in Defiance, Ohio this year.
Schroer’s bill was defeated in April by the St. Louis Democratic State Senators Karla Mosley and Steve Roberts, who filibustered for seven hours to stop it.
“It reminds me so much of a street drug war,” said May, during a Senate floor debate on April 9, “where you got these people over here saying you can’t infringe on my territory…I don’t think we should be using law to create an unfair business advantage.”
A number of Republican state senators supported the filibuster. They also said that they opposed what they called the “monopolistic attempts” made by the marijuana sector to suppress its competitors.
The fight is now being taken local, with both St. Louis County Council as well as St. Louis City’s Board of Aldermen considering a ban.
Lisa Clancy of the St. Louis County Council proposed a similar bill in January. The bill is now only a single vote away from being passed. She stated that neither the St. Louis Senate filibusterers nor industry representatives have contacted her.
The bill tasks the county’s health department with enforcement—including seizing and destroying the products. The county’s health department has worked with her to understand the bill before it is put to a vote.
Clancy Cohn Schroer have all argued that the “public health crisis” is not a war between industries but rather a public health issue.
St. Louis City and County legislation is different from Schroer’s, because Schroer decided to make an exception in his law for the low-dose THC products that were sold at Missouri liquor and bar stores for over seven years. However, it still only allowed high-dose gummies to be sold at marijuana dispensaries.
Cohn said that he views the bill filed by him on June 27, as “a placeholder,” and wants to discuss how regulation can be moved forward.
He said, “I am happy that we are having these conversations in order to reach the final result of protecting children and their health and welfare.” It’s more than just the fact that these products have no age restriction. You have no idea what’s in these products.
Megan Green is the aldermanic mayor of the city and has co-sponsored this bill.
Green, in an email sent to The Independent last week, said that it was simply unsustainable for kids to purchase products at gas stations which are unregulated and untaxed.
The Independent’s request for comments on this issue was not responded to by Mayor Cara Spencer.
Sam Page of St. Louis County did not take a stance on the issue in his letter to The Independent. Instead, he said that “there needs to be a vigorous discussion as to what regulation should look like and I am grateful to Councilwoman Clancy for leading these efforts.”
The ban on a product
The THC content of hemp is naturally low, compared to marijuana. This potency is able to be enhanced with a little science.
Intoxicating hemp is not regulated at all by the government. While marijuana must be sold through dispensaries, and grown and produced in facilities that are regulated by state law, cannabis products can be purchased in any retail outlet and made in production plants regulated in each individual state.
It’s not a state or federal rule that says teenagers and children cannot buy or sell these products. Some vendors and stores, however, have decided to set an age restriction of 21 years and older.
If the St. Louis bills pass, all intoxicating hemp products would be put under the state’s definition of marijuana—which would create a ban on available products.
Here’s why: Licensed cannabis dispensaries wouldn’t be able to sell these intoxicating hemp products either because the hemp used to make them has to be grown in Missouri and processed in licensed cultivation and manufacturing facilities—just as marijuana is. The hemp used to make these intoxicating products is grown and processed by licensed facilities, just like marijuana.
There are limits on marijuana permits.
The filibustering state legislators argued that the proposed legislation would lead to a “marijuana monopsony”.
Another St. Louis player—Steven Busch, who owns St. Peters-based Krey Distributing—pushed for an alternative licensing structure this year that looks more similar to how alcohol and tobacco retailers are licensed.
Dave Hinman of O’Fallon is a Republican state representative. They worked together on a proposal to license and regulate beverages, edibles and electronic vapes outside of dispensaries.
Hinman’s proposal called for age restrictions, clear labels on all products and testing by labs with the same accreditation as the Missouri Division of Cannabis Regulation.
There were just too many different opinions from the hemp industry to allow the bill to be passed.
Busch had a problem with THCA, a flower that looks like and behaves just like marijuana. His belief that hemp should only be available in dispensaries was strongly opposed by other hemp activists.
Busch stated that passing laws to ban all items in this category is “a slippery slope”.
Busch stated that “some of it could be safe” but “some of it really takes advantage of Farm Bill, and should be forbidden.”
Busch accepted the Schroer bill’s carve-out that limits the THC content to five milligrams in each can. The bill excluded beverages containing “synthetic THC”, or THC converted to CBD by a chemical conversion process.
Others said that the THC limit was a too-low and restrictive.
Hinman said he will file another bill in the next legislative session, taking into account all of the discussions he has had during the previous legislative session.
He said, “I do not think that we should move all of our products into dispensaries.” Two, I do not think city by city regulation is a great idea. “I believe this should be done at the state level through the legislature.”
Gladstone, Farmington, and Chesterfield in Missouri have all passed ordinances banning or restricting these products.
Intoxicating gummies
Last summer, Total Wine—the country’s largest liquor retailer—set the tone for the alcohol industry when it began carrying hemp-derived THC infused beverages at its seven Missouri stores.
Mighty Kind, a St. Louis-based firm, was featured for its hemp seltzers.
Joshua Grigaitis told The Independent that it was “amazing” for him. It is a great thing when Total Wine gets involved in the conversation.
He said that his products account for 30 to 40% of sales in some bars.
Grigaitis and his team have spent the last seven years educating people on how they make their products and why they can buy a THC product outside of a dispensary—because the 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp.
He said he welcomed regulation because it could help grow the industry. The conversation about regulation has been stalled among legislators in the state for two years.
That’s why—not long after Grigaitis learned about Total Wine last year—former Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican from Missouri, signed an executive directive in August last year that banned the sale of hemp-based products with alcohol and threatened penalties for any business selling food or liquor products.
As with the St. Louis legislation, he charged the health department of the state to enforce it.
Parson’s Order was finally put on Hold a Month Later, After a Series of Political and Legal Barriers.
Grigaitis stated that he could only speak on behalf of the hemp beverage sector, but distributors and retail stores like Total Wine have a variety of compliance and testing requirements in order “to just do business.”
He explained that “everyone has a checklist of what they have to do in order to comply or qualify.” It’s no longer the wild west.
Clancy stated that she “does not want to see Mighty Kind go out of business.”
She said, “I don’t want to rush anything without input from stakeholders and get something that will work for them.” “My concern is about shady characters.”
Clancy, like Parson and Cohn said that she is most concerned with edibles. She claims to have test results on edibles she purchased in stores throughout the city and county.
She said that they were made of mulch. I personally know people who have bought these from convenience shops and gotten sick.
Brian Dix of Craft Republic, a St. Louis-based alcohol distributor, believes that the hemp beverage bill is likely to push consumers online. Seltzers from his company are among the top products in TikTok’s shop.
Online sales and social marketing are huge industries, he says. If the city takes this position, I don’t want to remain in the city.”
The original publication of this story is Missouri Independent.