“There are some bills out there that will…result in thousands of jobs lost and millions of dollars of tax revenue off the table.”
Sam Stockard of Tennessee Lookout
Maggie Clark, a businesswoman from Crossville, believes that a slew of bills introduced in Tennessee’s legislature to restrict hemp-related items will steal the industry and hand it over to “conglomerates.”
Clark, a grower, producer and retailer of hemp-based products, says that her small businesses in Tennessee, including Cann-I-Help and Cann-I-Help Manufacturing, will be affected, despite having complied with state and federal laws for the past six years.
“I feel like they’re gonna take what I worked my ass off, blood, sweat and tears, from the ground up, boot-straps business, small business, woman-owned, woman-operated, and they’re gonna take that away from me and give it to somebody…who’s been operating federally illegally for the last 25 freaking years,” Clark says.
The Alcoholic Beverage Commission will be taking up a variety of bills this year that could cripple the cannabis industry. One of these would transfer the Department of Agriculture’s regulation of hemp-based products and cannabinoids to them.
Clark says that she began her business in 2004 with just $4,000.
Then they will take away my hard-earned business? “I started this company from nothing. Now, you’re going to steal it from me?” Clark says.
According to data from the industry, sales of hemp products have soared since they were made legal in 2019. The industry estimates that this has led to an increase in revenue between $280 and $560 millions per year.
House Bill 1376 was sponsored by Willam L. Lamberth (House Majority Leader) of Portland and Republican Sen. Richard Briggs from Knoxville. This bill would prevent convenience stores selling CBD and hemp products, and instead direct them to vape shops or liquor stores that would sell low-THC beverages, THC being the primary psychoactive ingredient in cannabis.
Lamberth says his bill is needed to ensure that customers are aware they’re buying “potentially dangerous” products.
Lamberth states that “they’re obviously powerful intoxicants derived from THC.”
The compound delta-9 THC is what distinguishes hemp from marijuana. Cannabis with a concentration of less than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC is defined as legal hemp in Tennessee—and federally. Cannabis with higher concentrations than 0.3 per cent is considered marijuana in Tennessee and it is prohibited to sell, grow or own.
Tennessee does not have a ban on THCA. It is a non-intoxicating, but still potent acid. When heated or smoked, the THCA in the plant converts into delta-9 THC—an illegal substance in Tennessee in greater than trace amounts.
Other bills would tax and regulate hemp-related businesses, remove two hemp items—THCA and THCP—from the list of approved hemp-derived cannabinoids and further crack down on any business that sells a hemp-related product to anyone under 21.
Clark, who opposes legalizing marijuana says that the changes are looming will force customers to the “black markets” at the cost of the store owners, hemp farmers, and manufacturers who have built their businesses thanks to the help from the state.
Tennessee Fuel and Convenience Store Association opposes Lamberth’s bill as well, stating that retailers have sold “age-sensitive products” such as cigarettes and beer, along with hemp and CBD.
In a press release, the Association said that “it is troubling” the proposal would only include convenience and grocery shops while promoting bars, restaurants, and liquor stores.
Rob Ikard is the president of the Tennessee Grocers and Convenience Store Association. He has a similar position, as the bill also removes the grocery store from the sale of hemp products.
Ikard: “It’ll have an impact on the financial side of things.”
The hemp-infused seltzers, which are popular in supermarkets and take the place of beer with younger consumers, would now be sent to all liquor stores.
The lawmakers were sued for passing a bill in two years setting new hemp product guidelines. This lawsuit is still pending in court.
A Nashville judge, however, has ruled that the sale of hemp items will remain legal at least until June. The Department of Agriculture originally planned to take products off store shelves on December 25, last year.
Alex Little, an attorney in Nashville who represents hemp-growers, believes that the state, if it is not cautious, will “kill” parts of the sector.
“There are some bills out there that will…result in thousands of jobs lost and millions of dollars of tax revenue off the table,” Little says.
Little, for example, predicts a 50% reduction in sales if Lamberth’s bill continues to prohibit THCA. It also expects the loss of thousands jobs.
Tennessee Lookout was the first to publish this story.
Tennessee lawmakers want to ban hemp products, while others see an opportunity for marijuana legalization
Pixabay.com is credited with the photo.