Even with the exception of hemp beverages, this bill would still shut down hundreds Missouri businesses.
By Rebecca Rivas, Missouri Independent
The Missouri Senate and House approved legislation this week that allows low-dose hemp beverages to be sold at grocery stores and liquor shops.
A House committee advanced a bill 12–5 on Wednesday afternoon, followed the next morning by a 5–1 vote by a Senate committee.
The bills allow hemp-THC seltzers on the shelves of stores, but they also ban edibles and vapes that are intoxicating.
The House Public Safety Committee members were hesitant to make this point because they feared it could negatively impact the Missouri businesses that currently sell these products.
Mark Sharp (Democratic state rep. from Kansas City), who voted “yes”, said, “This bill is difficult to vote on.” You’re trying to regulate to a point that will keep our children safe in the urban areas, but on the other hand, it may be over-regulating. You may also be over-regulating.
Sharp and other lawmakers stated that they had voted to pass the bill in order for it to be seen by more people when it reached the House. Other legislators voted no because they would have preferred another piece of legislation filed this year.
The beer wholesalers legislation sponsored by Republican State Rep. Barry Hovis from Whitewater is one of the proposals. It outlines only hemp beverage regulations. The bill would follow the same distribution model that alcohol companies have used for decades.
Hovis, at the House Committee meeting on Wednesday, said: “I am against monopolies and always have been. I believe that independent businesses are already selling things that were legal before the farm bill. This could mean a tripling or even quadrupling.
Both bills passed this week require all retailers to obtain a permit in order to sell beverages. The key difference between the two bills is who is responsible for issuing licenses and how they are regulated.
Nick Schroer of Defiance is the Republican sponsor of this Senate bill. The Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control already has the authority to regulate liquor manufacturers, retailers and distributors.
Chad Perkins, Republican State Rep. from Bowling Green will sponsor the House Bill, asking the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services to regulate cannabis in the state. This agency is already housed within the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
Schroer told the Senate Committee on Thursday that his bill was not a finished product. If we are going to regulate the industry, then implement consumer protections so that you can be sure the product is what is advertised on the package. “The main thing is to ensure that these substances are not available for our children.”
Schroer’s original bill proposed 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.
Last month, the Missouri Cannabis Trade Association proposed an amendment to make an exception for drinks such as THC-infused seltzers in cans. This amendment set the maximum amount of THC per can at five milligrams and prohibited drinks that contain “synthetic”, or THC created by chemically converting CBD to THC.
Both the House Bill and Senate bill contain this language.
Brooklyn Hill, the president of Missouri Hemp Trade Association said that MoCann’s carving out is not a “solution to the problem.”
Hill stated that even though hemp beverages are excluded from the bill, it will still result in hundreds of Missouri companies closing and hundreds of Missourians losing their jobs.
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 products that are intoxicating to the user is illegal, but several states have laws prohibiting it. Missouri lawmakers have also tried to pass legislation in this regard for two years.
There’s no state or federal law saying teenagers or children can’t buy them or that 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.
It is proposed by the Hemp Association that beverages and edibles be restricted to 100 mg THC/serving, stating that certain people use them medicinally. This law directs that the Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control regulates hemp licensees.
Missouri Hemp Trade Association strongly opposes the creation of the three-tier system. It says it creates a monopoly for the distributors.
The original publication of this story is Missouri Independent.
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