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Posted On: 03/05/2025 4:38:45 PM
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Tennessee Hemp Industry Faces Existential Risk as Lawmakers Mull Banning Intoxicating Products
The proliferation of intoxicating hemp products has seen states across the country approve various regulations making these intoxicants illegal. Now legislators in Tennessee are set to discuss proposals that may ban these products in their jurisdiction.
While these proposals may help regulate these intoxicants, many believe that they will also adversely affect the legal hemp industry if approved. Maggie Clark, a Crossville businesswoman, believes that the measures will negatively affect small businesses and pave the way for conglomerates to occupy a larger share of the market. Her business, Cann I Help, grows, manufactures and retails hemp products.
Measures tabled this year include a bill that would give authority to the Alcohol Beverage Commission to regulate cannabinoid and hemp products. Under the bill, businesses would require three-quarters of a million dollars in assets to support their operations.
House Bill 1376, which was introduced by Sen. Richard Briggs and House Majority Leader William Lamberth, would prevent convenience stores from selling CBD and hemp products. The proposal would allow these products be sold exclusively by liquor stores and vape shops. These businesses would also be permitted to sell drinks containing low levels of THC.
Lamberth argues that his proposal is necessary as it’ll allow consumers to be aware of whether they’re purchasing possibly dangerous products.
Not everyone agrees with him though. The Tennessee Fuel and Convenience Store Association argues that retailers already have experience selling products like cigarettes and beer, which are age-sensitive. This, it continues, makes them best-placed to handle hemp and CBD products.
Most of the intoxicating products that may be banned are chemically derived from THC, which is present in both the hemp and cannabis plants.
Hemp is differentiated from cannabis in that it contains a concentration of less than 0.3% delta-9 THC. The plant was legalized with the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, making this the legal limit at the federal level, as well as at the state level in Tennessee. According to the law, hemp with higher delta-9 THC concentrations is deemed to be marijuana, which is illegal to possess, cultivate or sell in the state of Tennessee.
Other proposed measures would clamp down on businesses that sold these intoxicating products to individuals under the age of 21, regulate and tax businesses in the hemp industry, and eliminate THCP and THCA from the list of approved cannabinoids derived from hemp. THCA is a non-intoxicating compound found in hemp flowers. When it is smoked or heated, this compound converts into delta-9 THC.
Major hemp industry players around the country like Software Effective Solutions Corp. (d/b/a MedCana) (OTC: SFWJ) recognize that while businesses need to operate, their activities shouldn’t pose a risk to minors. Regulations are therefore good, though a balance between public health concerns and enabling innovation and growth needs to be attained.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Software Effective Solutions Corp. (d/b/a MedCana) (OTC: SFWJ) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://cnw.fm/SFWJ
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the HempWire website applicable to all content provided by HW, wherever published or re-published: https://www.HempWire.com/Disclaimer
The proliferation of intoxicating hemp products has seen states across the country approve various regulations making these intoxicants illegal. Now legislators in Tennessee are set to discuss proposals that may ban these products in their jurisdiction.
While these proposals may help regulate these intoxicants, many believe that they will also adversely affect the legal hemp industry if approved. Maggie Clark, a Crossville businesswoman, believes that the measures will negatively affect small businesses and pave the way for conglomerates to occupy a larger share of the market. Her business, Cann I Help, grows, manufactures and retails hemp products.
Measures tabled this year include a bill that would give authority to the Alcohol Beverage Commission to regulate cannabinoid and hemp products. Under the bill, businesses would require three-quarters of a million dollars in assets to support their operations.
House Bill 1376, which was introduced by Sen. Richard Briggs and House Majority Leader William Lamberth, would prevent convenience stores from selling CBD and hemp products. The proposal would allow these products be sold exclusively by liquor stores and vape shops. These businesses would also be permitted to sell drinks containing low levels of THC.
Lamberth argues that his proposal is necessary as it’ll allow consumers to be aware of whether they’re purchasing possibly dangerous products.
Not everyone agrees with him though. The Tennessee Fuel and Convenience Store Association argues that retailers already have experience selling products like cigarettes and beer, which are age-sensitive. This, it continues, makes them best-placed to handle hemp and CBD products.
Most of the intoxicating products that may be banned are chemically derived from THC, which is present in both the hemp and cannabis plants.
Hemp is differentiated from cannabis in that it contains a concentration of less than 0.3% delta-9 THC. The plant was legalized with the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, making this the legal limit at the federal level, as well as at the state level in Tennessee. According to the law, hemp with higher delta-9 THC concentrations is deemed to be marijuana, which is illegal to possess, cultivate or sell in the state of Tennessee.
Other proposed measures would clamp down on businesses that sold these intoxicating products to individuals under the age of 21, regulate and tax businesses in the hemp industry, and eliminate THCP and THCA from the list of approved cannabinoids derived from hemp. THCA is a non-intoxicating compound found in hemp flowers. When it is smoked or heated, this compound converts into delta-9 THC.
Major hemp industry players around the country like Software Effective Solutions Corp. (d/b/a MedCana) (OTC: SFWJ) recognize that while businesses need to operate, their activities shouldn’t pose a risk to minors. Regulations are therefore good, though a balance between public health concerns and enabling innovation and growth needs to be attained.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Software Effective Solutions Corp. (d/b/a MedCana) (OTC: SFWJ) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://cnw.fm/SFWJ
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the HempWire website applicable to all content provided by HW, wherever published or re-published: https://www.HempWire.com/Disclaimer
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