California’s ban on hemp-based intoxicants, like THC-infused seltzers and other products that are intended to be consumed, was originally set to end at the end March. However, the state has extended the prohibition until the end June.
First established by Governor Gavin Newsom in September, the ban is technically a set of emergency regulations issued by the state Department of Public Health. Gavin Newsom, after the State Legislature failed to pass an intoxicating hemp product bill regulation. The same agency issued a secret bulletin last Thursday announcing emergency rules will be in effect as long the Office of Administrative Law signs off on an extension.
SFGate reports that the ban is only extendable twice. This means it has a short lifespan, unless the legislation makes it permanent.
A legal challenge was also made last year by hemp companies who argued that new regulations were in conflict with federal hemp legalization. The Farm Bill of 2018 approved in Congress legalized hemp and sparked a national hemp industry.
California is not the only state to tackle intoxicating hemp products. Georgia, Louisiana. Missouri. Mississippi. New Jersey. North Carolina. Ohio. Tennessee. Texas. Virginia.
Cannabis and hemp are at each other’s throats. Many traditional marijuana businesses in California and elsewhere have called for hemp businesses be held to the exact same standards as they do, while some others simply switched over to hemp.