Florida lawmakers target hemp products

TALLAHASSEE — The Florida House on Tuesday teed up a proposal aimed at outlawing euphoria-inducing hemp products sold at shops throughout the state, as critics warned that the plan could shutter small businesses and eliminate thousands of jobs.

With the 2024 legislative session scheduled to end Friday, the House made changes to a Senate bill (SB 1698) and set it up for a House vote, possibly as soon as Wednesday. If the House passes the tweaked bill, it would need approval from the Senate before it could be sent to Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The legislation targets what is known as delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol and other cannabinoids in hemp products — including whole-flower products — that can create euphoric effects.

House bill sponsor Tommy Gregory, R-Lakewood Ranch, acknowledged Tuesday that his proposal is designed to eliminate intoxicating hemp products offered at retail stores.

Lawmakers in 2019 authorized hemp to be grown in the state to take advantage of a federal farm law. Hemp and marijuana are cannabis plants, but levels of the cannabinoid THC differ, with hemp having a THC level of 0.3 percent or less. Other cannabinoids in hemp, however, can be changed to increase the intoxicating effects of products.

Gregory argued Tuesday that lawmakers were “duped” into approving the 2019 law allowing “industrial hemp” to be grown and sold in the state.

“There was a grand total of 35 acres harvested last year, of hemp. They’re not doing it for industrial purposes. There are hemp products being sold around the state, and they’re being sold because there’s a lot of money in selling people drugs. They’re using hemp products to make intoxicating substances,” Gregory said.

The Senate unanimously passed its version of the bill last month. But changes made Tuesday in the House would remove a flavor ban for inhaled hemp products and set proposed caps on the amount of THC concentration in hemp-based products to “5 milligrams per serving and 50 milligrams per 14 container on a wet-weight basis, whichever is less.” The Senate proposal had set caps at 2 mg per serving and 10 mg per container.

The House proposal also would clarify that hemp-based products are regulated by the office of Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, who has made a priority of ridding the state of hemp-based products that appeal to children or exceed certain levels of euphoria-inducing THC.

During a House discussion Tuesday, Democrats questioned Gregory about testimony during the legislative session from business owners who said the proposed caps would effectively nix a thriving industry.

Products that would be banned if the bill passes are legal under federal law, argued Rep. Hillary Cassel, D-Dania Beach. Cassel also noted that the products targeted by the bill would still be allowed to be sold by the state’s licensed medical marijuana operators.

“All we’re doing in this fight is picking winners and losers. We have an industry that’s successful, that sells over $10 billion,” Cassel said. “These products aren’t bad enough to be taken off the market. We’re just deciding who gets to sell them.”

Democrats failed to convince Republicans, who have a large majority in the House, to remove the restrictions.

Rep. Robin Bartleman, D-Weston, said the bill needed to be “gutted” to protect lawmakers’ constituents, including people with medical conditions such as epilepsy or cancer who rely on hemp-based products.

“These are your constituents, losing their jobs, closing their shops, and more importantly, honor their wishes,” she said.

But Gregory said the state should adopt his “law-and-order” approach to the hemp industry and called the revamped bill a “compromise” with the Senate

“Make no mistake, the reason they (the businesses) want to sell delta-8 and some of these other psychoactive substances is, there’s a lot of money in it. And the reason people are buying it is because it gets them high,” Gregory said.

He equated hemp-industry operators to pawn-shop brokers who sell stolen goods.

“We’ve caught them at what they’re doing. They’re not producing industrial hemp. They’re making recreational intoxicating substances,” he said.