State Legislatures Move Opposite Directions On Hemp, Delta-8

In the latest legislative update released to us by the US Hemp Roundtable, South Dakota and Utah pass bills governing the legal age requirement for delta-8 THC consumption (SD) and the ability of veterinarians to discuss CBD with pet owners (UT), and Illinois pushes a resolution to repeal the drug felon ban from the 2018 Farm Bill. 

South Dakota

Enacted the week before last (Mar 10), HB 1292 in South Dakota prohibits the sale, purchase and/or distribution of “a product intended for human consumption containing delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol, THC-O acetate, or hexahydrocannabinol to a person under the age of twenty-one.”

The cannabinoid delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol is a very close relative to delta-9 THC, both in molecular structure and in many of the compound’s intoxicating effects, such as dizziness, fatigue, irritability, and euphoria, which is why many states have been moving to close the delta-8 loopholes left wide open when it was first popularized. 

Utah

On a more definitively pro-hemp note, SB 209 in Utah is summarized in the official language as a bill that “clarifies that a licensed veterinarian is not prohibited from discussing the effect of cannabis on an animal with the animal’s owner.”

Utah enters a growing list of states now legalizing this specific line of discussion, but it’s important to note a distinction between states that legalize recreational marijuana use in humans versus those like SB 209, as the two don’t always coincide.

SB 209 has officially passed both chambers of the Utah legislature and only needs the governor’s signature before enactment.

Illinois

Finally, Illinois is looking to bolster HR 6645, the Hemp Advancement Act, with HR 0707, a bill that “asks members of the U.S. Congress to allow persons with felonies related to controlled substances to obtain an industrial hemp license,” a provision initially introduced by the 2018 Farm Bill.

The Hemp Advancement Act seeks to address several other obfuscating or restrictive components of the 2018 legislation, including raising the legal THC threshold for industrial hemp and freeing hemp testing laboratories from mandatory DEA registration among other key items, for which HR 0707 and other shows of support from the states will provide a springboard.