Governor greenlights new hemp regulations

The state has great expectations for its hemp program, approved in 2019.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a hemp bill that originally would have imposed onerous THC caps and a controversial ban on synthetic-derived cannabinoids, but was changed radically during the legislative process.

The Governor approved SB 1676, which ultimately passed both the House and Senate unanimously after initial controversy. The conflict was resolved by a strike-all amendment that found a compromise between those wary of an unfettered hemp sector and industry advocates.

The end result is a product that maintains age limits of 21 and up for purchase and usage, as well as a ban on packaging that’s “attractive to children.” But the essential product itself will largely be unchanged in the wake of intense and sustained pushback from the in-state hemp industry against the bill as originally filed.

The bills originally envisioned a limit of 0.5 milligrams of THC per dose, or 2 milligrams per container, a proposal that rankled the hemp industry.

The complaint was that the seemingly arbitrary limit would impact people who use the product for medical purposes and would place burdens on producers and marketers that would have made commercial hemp cost-prohibitive.

The bill still curbs “hemp edibles” making their way to minors, adding “consumer safety” provisions including product testing. The bill still deals primarily with food and food safety, and does not affect creams, lotions, shampoos and other “non-ingestible hemp products.”

Industry stakeholders and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services backed the bill in its final form.