Missouri Bill To Regulate Intoxicating Hemp Products Stalls In Senate Following 7-Hour Filibuster

“If we’re going to have a regulated industry, implement consumer protections to make sure that the potency that’s on the packaging is exactly what it is.”

By Rebecca Rivas, Missouri Independent

Legislation aiming to regulate intoxicating hemp products like delta-8 THC seltzers and hemp-THC gummies stalled in the Missouri Senate on Wednesday after a seven-hour bipartisan filibuster.

The bill’s harshest critics argued it was nothing more than an attempt by the marijuana industry to stomp out its competition.

“It reminds me so much of a street drug war,” said state Sen. Karla May, a Democrat from St. Louis. “All drugs have always been about distribution and territory. And this is no different.”

This was the second year that May led bipartisan resistance to legislation that would ban intoxicating hemp edibles and vapes from being sold outside of marijuana dispensaries.

The bill is backed by the Missouri Cannabis Trade Association and sponsored by Republican state Sen. Nick Schroer (R) of Defiance, who has tried unsuccessfully to guide it through the legislative process the last two years.

While marijuana products must be sold in dispensaries and be grown and manufactured in state-regulated facilities, intoxicating hemp products are completely unregulated by any governmental agency. They can come from other states and are not required to be tested, though many companies do post test results on their websites.

There’s no state or federal law saying teenagers or children can’t buy them or stores can’t sell them to minors, but some stores and vendors have taken it upon themselves to impose age restrictions of 21 and up.

“This is not just a loophole,” Schroer said, “it is a public-health crisis.”

The reason for the difference in treatment is that the 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp. Several states have passed laws to prohibit intoxicating hemp products, and Missouri legislators have tried for the past two years to do that as well.

They have been met with arguments that a ban would further entrench a “marijuana monopoly.”

This year, in an attempt to appease these concerns, Schroer agreed to amend his bill to carve out an exception for beverages, such as THC seltzers sold in cans. It capped the amount of THC at five milligrams per can and excluded drinks made with “synthetic” THC, or THC that has been converted from CBD using a chemical process.

However, May argued it doesn’t protect many other hemp businesses that don’t sell beverages and manufacture high-dose products to treat certain ailments. She proposed an amendment to create special licenses for hemp businesses that would be regulated through the same agency that oversees the state’s marijuana program, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. It failed 8–16.

May’s amendment came after the Missouri House spent many hours this year debating two bills backed by hemp industry leaders, which were both defeated in committee. Those bills established a similar regulatory framework as proposed by May.

Infighting among hemp leaders contributed to the bills’ demise. One of the bill sponsors, state Rep. Dave Hinman (R) of O’Fallon, attempted to come up with a compromise among the splintered hemp industry leaders on regulations. He incorporated a number of the Missouri Hemp Association’s requests into an amended version of his bill. Not only did the association still reject his bill but the hemp beverage distributor that initially backed his bill called members of the committee to kill it before it went to a vote because he didn’t like the association’s additions.

Schroer said that marijuana products are sold in dispensaries to be “kept out of the hands of children,” and to ensure heavy metals, pesticides and carcinogens aren’t contained in these products.

“If we’re going to have a regulated industry, implement consumer protections to make sure that the potency that’s on the packaging is exactly what it is,” he said. “The main point is making sure that our kids don’t have access to this stuff.”

The filibuster was supported by several Republican senators, including Sens. Mike Moon, Mary Elizabeth Coleman, Mike Cierpiot and Curtis Trent.

Coleman said May’s amendment is “really reasonable.”

“We’ve got to find a path for us to not continually pick winners and losers through the government, when we can’t protect our businesses through the marketplace,” Coleman said. “Increasingly, we see Republicans taking those positions, and I find it very troubling.”

Coleman and Cierpiot held the floor for more than an hour and said they agreed children could be protected by requiring the products to be locked behind the counters at convenience stores. Cierpiot called it a “turf war.”

“If you’re truly worried about kids and the way this stuff is sold,” he said, “the path forward is pretty clear.”

Just before 8 p.m., Schroer interrupted Cierpiot talking about his crypto money investments to lay the bill over, ending the debate.

This story was first published by Missouri Independent.

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