It’s not fair and balanced. “It’s unfair and unbalanced.”
Christopher Shea is the Rhode Island Current’s Christopher Shea
Nobody complained when Rhode Island state regulators allowed the sale of hemp-derived THC drinks in liquor stores last summer.
Cannabis cultivators and retail outlets in the state are now speaking up, claiming that the alcohol industry has been circumventing the strict guidelines which they had to adhere to to bring their psychoactive products on the market.
The bill, sponsored by Cranston Democrat Rep. Jacquelyn baginski, declares it legal for distributors licensed to sell alcohol containing no more than 5 mg delta-9 THC in bars, restaurants, and liquor stores. A bill sponsored by Cranston Democrat Jacquelyn Baginski would increase the amount liquor wholesalers are required to pay in order to have the rights of selling these products. Robert Britto (an East Providence Democrat) is the sponsor of companion legislation.
Baginski stated in an interview that the goal of his legislation was to control sales of drinks already on sale. Baginski said in an interview that “for every retailer and good actor who has gone to the trouble and effort of requiring this license, there could be one or two others who haven’t done so.”
The existing hemp regulations allow for the sale of products containing delta-9 THC, such as baked goods, gummies and lozenges. State has now 120 hemp distributors and retailers, including businesses from Colorado, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.
Connecticut mandated in July that THC-infused beverages could only be purchased at licensed liquor shops and cannabis retailers. Massachusetts regulators meanwhile declared that last May intoxicating products made from hemp could not be sold outside cannabis retail shops.
Baginski’s and Britto’s bills increase the amount paid annually by wholesalers of liquor to 1,500 dollars to allow them to distribute drinks containing delta-9-THC. The rules are drafted by the Department of Business Regulation. Restaurants and bars would be required to pay $250 per year.
Seven Rhode Island cannabis dispensaries pay an annual licensing fee of $30,000 to sell THC-containing products. The rules follow regulations created by the Cannabis Control Commission of Rhode Island.
“Why are some countries subjected to high regulations while others do not?” Magnus Thorsson, a professor at Johnson & Wales University’s Cannabis Entrepreneurship Program, told Rhode Island Current. “It is not balanced and fair.”
Mike Simpson of Lovewell farms, a farm in Hopkinton that was co-founded by Simpson in 1995, has said he doesn’t mind if liquor stores in Rhode Island sell hemp. He only wishes that hemp producers like himself were included in the legislation.
Simpson stated in an online interview that they “completely left out” the hemp-based industry. It was as though we didn’t exist. “This kind of not only feels superfluous, but also feels like they didn’t actually engage with the industry—I hope they’re open to hearing.”
Baginski admitted that she had not yet met leaders in the hemp industry, but she said she was always open to connecting with them.
She said, “I do not claim to be an expert and am open to all feedback.”
Baginiski’s bill was first heard by the House Corporations Committee, on 8 April. It was then held to further study in accordance with standard procedure during a preliminary vetting of a legislative committee.
The liquor industry in the state supports this proposal.
Nicholas Fede Jr. is the Executive Director for Rhode Island Liquor Operators Collaborative. He said alcohol retailers have a good position to take part in the market of hemp-derived THC. According to him, Rhode Island Current reported that staff and store owners are trained in recognizing the effects of intoxicating drugs when dealing with customers.
Fede noted that “we have had a history of product integrity and high quality.” “We’re the gatekeepers to public safety.”
Alex Nendza is the director of marketing at Bottles Fine Wine in Providence’s East Side. He understands that cannabis cultivators and dispensaries feel resentful, but he said having more retail outlets would help grow the industry.
Bottles has already accounted for 10% of the revenue generated by THC-containing drinks.
Nendza told an interviewer that “it’s sometimes hard to keep these in stock.” Our shelves are empty pretty quickly.
CBD can be used to produce THC
Since 2018, hemp has been legal on the federal level. Hemp-derived THC drinks were technically illegal in Rhode Island—at least until last August, when the state’s Office of Cannabis Regulation began allowing the sale of products containing low levels of delta-9 THC at licensed retailers, which includes vape shops and liquor stores.
Only licensed cannabis retailers are allowed to sell beverages derived from marijuana. Hemp, by itself, produces very little THC and is non-psychoactive at first harvest.
Stuart Procter is the co-founder of PureVita Labs, a cannabis testing lab in West Warwick. He said: “It’s just a molecule. Your body has no discretion about where it came from.”
It is the method of synthesis that makes a difference.
Delta-9 occurs naturally in cannabis plants. It takes some chemical wizardry to turn hemp’s non-psychoactive THC into psychoactive CBD. The hemp can be soaked in butane, ethanol, or heated to remove THC.
Procter said that if all the steps are followed by chemists or people with the right knowledge, the end product will be a safe, nice, and identical delta-9 extracted from marijuana plants.
Procter says that safety may not always be guaranteed because the hemp testing regulations vary by state.
“There is very little to none testing standards that guide hemp-related product,” said he. “If you were to bring hemp into the same regulatory protocols that would make sense—if they want to play in the same market, they should abide by the same regulations.”
Conflicting rules?
Baginski said she was “surprised” to see THC-based hemp products on the market, and that they were largely unregulated.
This legislation does not aim to change the current structure for sales of THC-based marijuana, but instead to provide a safer market for hemp THC beverage.
Baginski’s proposal, say state regulators, could be in conflict with current cannabis laws.
Kimberly Ahern, Chairperson of the Cannabis Control Commission wrote to the Committee that the current bill would cancel several hemp licenses already in place and violate the commitment made by the State to “build a robust marijuana economy.”
Baginski’s bill does not require hemp-derived THC to be tested, labeled, or follow additional safety protocol.
Ahern warns that “the absence of clear standards for products derived from psychoactive hemp increases the risk of accidentally overconsuming and of exposure to vulnerable groups, such as youth.”
Ahern suggested that the General Assembly put the bill on hold until industry and regulator leaders had a chance to discuss the “alignment of this legislation with the state’s larger cannabis and hemp regulatory strategies.”
Baginski added that the aim of legislation was to start a conversation, and to let democracy unfold.
She told Rhode Island Current, “I think it is worth talking about the people we are selling to and exactly what they are.”
The original publication of this story is Rhode Island Current.
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