A.G. Gancarski
New restrictions appear likely for Florida’s hemp sector, including a ban on currently commercially available and federally legal products, along with a cap on delta-9 THC, which could negatively affect the 487 growers and roughly 10,000 retail outlets in the state.
The Senate Fiscal Policy committee advanced by a 17-2 vote Sen. Colleen Burton’s bill (SB 1698) which proposes a number of material changes to what the sponsor calls an “unregulated market.” Her bill enjoys the support of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS).
Discussion in the Fiscal Policy Committee was short on actual fiscal policy ahead of the overwhelming vote in favor of the bill, however, with Senators from both parties seemingly struggling to understand the subject on which they were voting.
The bill would crack down on alternative cannabinoids that serve as functional alternatives to delta-9 THC, the euphoria-inducing compound commodified by the state’s medical marijuana program.
Per the bill analysis, SB 1698 bans “synthetic or naturally occurring versions of controlled substances listed in s. 893.03, F.S., such as delta-8-tetrahydrocannabinol, delta-10-tetrahydrocannabinol, hexahydrocannabinol, tetrahydrocannabinol acetate, tetrahydrocannabiphorol, and tetrahydrocannabivarin.” These substances affect the CB1 receptor that delta-9 impacts, some with more intensity and some with less.
These are just a few of the 160 cannabinoids in the plant, of course. But they have seen an increased market share in recent years as the medical community and patients seek alternatives to patent drugs with dangerous side effects and frequent recalls once the products are mature in the marketplace.
In committee, Burton explained her position on what she called “dangerous and misleading products,” noting she was in the Legislature when the hemp program began last decade.
“I remember the conversation, and the conversation about the potential uses of hemp that was cultivated in Florida would be for different products, none of which were intended to cause harm to any individuals,” she said. “As a state, we have the primary regulatory authority over the production of hemp.”
“We had real concerns,” she added, contending that “the market today that we have in Florida related to hemp products meant for consumption has exceeded our concerns.”
Asked by Democratic Sen. Shevrin Jones about whether her bill would drive people to the black market, Burton said the “onus” was on law enforcement to ensure that doesn’t happen. The bill includes no mechanism to increase police enforcement against the use of this plant product, however.
Even Democratic Senators conflated delta-9 THC with other compounds currently legal, including those without psychoactive properties.
“When I used to smoke marijuana, one joint maybe had about 10 milligrams (of THC). As I’m listening and been researching this hemp thing, it would be like me smoking 100 joints,” said Sen. Rosalind Osgood, who would go on to describe herself as a “former professional marijuana smoker” currently in “recovery.”
She went on to support the bill, saying she was worried that an unfettered hemp market could lead to “kids eating out of dumpsters.”
Republicans made their own questionable statements as well.
Sen. Ileana Garcia wondered if a proposed CBD store at the Miami airport would just be one more ticket to a high for travelers, including those who might be coming from music festivals. Garcia worried that could potentially work to “prolong or complicate someone that’s coming from being intoxicated with other things that they should not have,” adding that she didn’t support an “edible” vendor in the airport.
Garcia noted she takes L-Theanine for anxiety, which interestingly enough has a synergistic effect with CBD, with compounds combining the two marketed even by mainstream figures like Martha Stewart.
Others commented on their own experience, such as Republican Sen. Corey Simon, who took too much delta-8 and went to a hospital because he couldn’t breathe and his heart rate was elevated. He was a “yes” for “those folks like myself who went looking for something to sleep, and ended up in the Emergency Room scared to death.”
The legislation also represents the second attempt by legislators to put hard caps on the delta-9 THC available in products.
2023’s SB 1676 contemplated them as well, but that was ameliorated during the committee process. This time around, legislators have resisted public outcry to maintain the status quo.
The current bill, per the summary, revises the definition of “hemp” to “outline that hemp extract may not exceed 0.3% total delta-9-THC concentration on a wet-weight basis or exceed 2 milligrams per serving and 10 milligrams per container on a wet-weight basis.”
That sets a more rigorous standard than the federal one established in the 2018 Farm Bill that established initial parameters for the then-fledgling industry without arbitrary packaging limits. It would also impact full-spectrum CBD products, which meet the federal requirements and include minor cannabinoids as well.
In closing, Burton noted the federal government put the burden on the states to set regulations. Yet no matter what Florida does, these products could simply be sourced by consumers from outside the state, creating a competitive imbalance that punishes the very industry the Legislature set up previously.
The legislation also clarifies what it means for a hemp product to be “attractive to children,” a term of art adopted in a previous Legislative Session. If it becomes law, it would ban “containers displaying toys, novel shapes, animations, promotional characters, licensed characters, or other features that specifically target children, or, for hemp extracted intended for inhalation, the addition of any flavoring.”
The bill, if it passes, is a boon to the medical marijuana industry, which seeks expansion into the recreational sphere via the citizen initiative process. Trulieve has donated roughly $40 million to that cause, and the company, which dominates the state’s cannabis market, also contributed to Burton’s 2022 campaign.
Public commenters noted a historic synergy between Florida policy makers and the medical marijuana industry, with one citing former FDACS Commissioner Nikki Fried and her previous engagement to the founder of Surterra as shaping the hemp program in the first place.
An identical version of the bill (HB 1613) is moving through the House as well, with two committee stops ahead for the Republican Rep. Tommy Gregory product.
