The grannies who read Taste of Home will be made felons.
By Zach Wendling, Nebraska Examiner
Some opponents preferred regulations to a de facto prohibition, but a legislative proposal was made Monday that would clamp down on products containing “synthetic”, consumable THC hemp.
The bill, introduced by state senator Kathleen Kauth, R, of Millard, redefines most hemp products as marijuana, bringing them in line with current enforcement and penalties. This bill is a major step forward for Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers’ (R) priority to regulate products above 0.3 percent THC, the chemical most often associated with making a person feel high.
Kauth, during a debate on the issue said: “These chemicals are dangerous synthetics that have not been tested in human consumption.”
‘We need to do something’
The bill advanced 33-13, though at least two supporters—state Sens. Tom Brandt (R) of Plymouth and Ben Hansen (R) of Blair—said the bill would need to be amended to maintain their support and overcome the 33-vote threshold for a filibuster. The state senators. Eliot Bostar, Jason Prokop and Dan Quick from Grand Island.
Multiple opponents of Kauth’s legislation said that they prefered the regulatory framework proposed by John Cavanaugh, state senator (D) from Omaha. Cavanaugh would have to “co-opt”, or attach his bill to another bill. Cavanaugh has filed over a dozen changes to LB 316.
Cavanaugh stated, “I am opposed to hijacking another person’s bill. But I have put this on the list because I believe that people will agree in this group that something needs to be done.”
Cavanaugh described the goal of attacking only “synthetic” products as a “red herring,” “misnomer” and “misdirection” in part because chemical “synthetic marijuana”—K-2 or “spice”—has already been banned for more than a decade. Kauth said that his broader hemp-derived product bill would generate more than $1.6m in tax revenue for the state, while at the same time, it faces an estimated budget deficit.
He said that a better regulatory system could bring in $7,7 millions.
‘Health and safety’
State Sen. Jared Storm (R) of David City, who selected LB 316 as his 2025 priority bill, said he repeatedly asked during a public hearing on Kauth’s bill what ingredients are in delta-8 products—a form of THC that is legal in the state under 2018 federal and 2019 state laws. He asked who made the products or where they came from, and “nobody was able to tell me.”
Hilgers was among 43 lawmakers who voted in 2019 to pass the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act.
Storm claimed that it was “impossible” to regulate this industry and said the products are garbage. He added that CBD is a “small amount” of cannabis oil (CBD), which can be vaped, smoked or eaten.
Storm stated he will never compromise the “health or safety of citizens, in particular children and youth, of this State, just to make money.” Brad von Gillern, a state senator from the Elkhorn region and chair of Revenue Committee, also agreed.
LB 316 prohibits raw hemp containing more than 0.3 percent of THC, regardless of concentration. For processed hemp it would be the lower of 0.3 percent of THC on a weight-based basis or 10 mg per package. The mature stalks can be used to make a variety of products. Cannabis sativa Its fiber, oil and cake, as well as any other products derived from hemp would be excluded, leaving only a limited legal pathway for textiles and fibers.
The bill would provide a consumer safe harbor until the end 2025, giving consumers the time they need to dispose of any new “illegal hemp”, as defined by LB 316. Wholesale tax of 10 percent would be added to legal products.
‘Felons of all the grannies’
Cavanaugh and Sens. George Dungan, a Democrat from Lincoln, and Danielle Conrad, a Democrat also from Lincoln, both lawyers, have said that the bill creates “gray zones” in which it is unclear whether a possession of marijuana would constitute a misdemeanor, an infraction, or even a felony.
The group said that it might result in “de facto” ban.
Wendy DeBoer, a state senator from Omaha and former attorney who served as vice-chair of the Judiciary Committee, which advanced LB 316 by a vote of 5-3, claimed that LB 316 was part of a felony factory where lotions, dog chews, and creams could be used to charge felony offenses. She also said such items might even end up in medicine cabinets of “grannies,” or “gummy eaters.”
DeBoer stated that a cousin sent her a slow cooker cannabutter recipe in Taste of Home as a joke, as LB 316 would be debating.
DeBoer declared: “We will make felons of the grandmas who subscribe to Taste of Home.”
Brandt called the idea that people can be accused of felony criminal possessing drugs “ridiculous”. Although he was in favor of the bill, Brandt stated that, even though he couldn’t say how it should be altered, he wouldn’t support the legislation again if it wasn’t amended.
State law defines marijuana possession greater than one ounce and less than one pound as a Class III Misdemeanor. Greater amounts of the drug are considered Class IV felonies. The smaller amounts are punishable by a Class IIIA Misdemeanor, which can carry a fine of up to $500 or a jail term up to 7 days.
Brandt wanted to protect Nebraskans from old CBD products that they may have legally bought at home.
This is hemp. Brandt told Brandt, “This isn’t marijuana.
‘Whack-a-mole with regulations’
Carolyn Bosn of Lincoln (R), chairwoman of the Judiciary Committee as well as a former prosecutor disagreed. She said this was more of a “clarification”, rather than an entirely new penalty.
Bosn argued that any attempt to move Kauth’s LB 316 to Cavanaugh’s LB 16 was akin to playing whack-a mole.
Bosn was also informed by the AG’s Office, that in Nebraska there are approximately 300 THC shops. Visitors to the stores where the AG’s Office has purchased products have discovered at least one illegal product. In this ongoing campaign, the office has brought at least 15 lawsuits. Some of them have been settled.
Cavanaugh stated that this was the reason why new regulations and guardrails were required. In part, his LB 16 would ban sales near schools as well as require testing.
Dungan referred to LB 316 repeatedly as a law of prohibition, comparable to the opposition to whiskey and bourbon. This didn’t stop sales, it created a “black market.”
Dungan stated, “We are all aware that the past is an excellent predictor for future.”
Nebraska Examiner published this article first.
Nebraska senators schedule town halls to discuss medical marijuana bills