The Marijuana Herald – Marijuana news and information
California is moving to make permanent an emergency ban on hemp-derived THC products.
Hemp plants (photo credit: Heather Ainsworth for The Wall Street Journal).
On Friday, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced a proposal to codify the ban, triggering a 45-day public comment period and setting the stage for a public hearing next month. If adopted, the rule would extend beyond the temporary emergency ban backed by Governor Gavin Newsom, which is set to expire in September.
Hemp-derived THC products are allowed nationwide via a loophole in the 2018 farm bill, which legalized industrial hemp. Although it’s certainly not what many lawmakers intended with the law, it has resulted in a proliferation of companies —including online retailers and local brick-and-mortar businesses like gas stations and smoke shops— selling a plethora of hemp THC products, such as THC beverages, gummies, and tinctures. Governor Newsom has been a vocal critic of hemp-derived THC, arguing that these products pose a risk to minors and lack the strict safety standards applied to state-licensed marijuana products. His administration pushed for the original emergency ban last year, which he later extended in March…