South Carolina Senate Committee Considers Bill to Regulate Hemp Intoxicants
A committee under the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources in South Carolina is currently reviewing a measure that, if passed, would regulate the state’s hemp industry. The state re-legalized the cultivation of industrial hemp in 2017, in accordance with the federal 2014 Farm Bill.
Senator Deon Tedder, who sponsored the regulation measure, introduced it in the Senate on January 14th this year. Tedder explained that businesses in the state wanted to follow the law as well as be protected and regulated while they operated legally in the state. This development comes after the Health and Environmental Control department introduced new regulations for hemp businesses last year.
Under the measure, each product on store shelves in the state would have to undergo testing and receive a Certificate of Analysis. Products containing hemp-derived cannabinoids would have to be tested to detect the amounts and presence of heavy metals, pesticides, mycotoxins, microbials, and residual solvents.
Additionally, every hemp retailer in South Carolina would have to be licensed, with the option of annual renewal after the validity period lapses. Legislators believe that this would ensure that all businesses were providing consistent and safe products to consumers. Under the measure, parties seeking licenses would need to consent to reasonable sampling and inspection of their product inventory by the department.
Backers of the measure add that the measure will allow consumers to know the contents of the hemp-based products they’re purchasing and/or consuming. David Spang, founder of Coastal Green Wellness, adds that the bill would also reduce the burden on consumers in the state. Spang explained that currently, consumers have the burden of ensuring that they find reputable establishments and businesses that offered safe products.
Through licenses, he noted, consumers would be assured that any product that they were purchasing in the state had undergone certain testing and safety measures.
The measure’s passage would also help generate revenue, with Tedder explaining that businesses would have to part with some monies for their licenses. These monies would then go towards the general fund to administer the program, eliminating the need for taxpayer money.
Under the measure, the department would also be allowed to deny or revoke licenses and issue civil penalties of up to one thousand dollars for violations like selling these hemp-derived products to minors, operating without a valid license, and knowingly distributing or selling samples of these products in a park or on a sidewalk and public street.
The wider hemp industry, including established nationwide operators like Software Effective Solutions Corp. (d/b/a MedCana) (OTC: SFWJ) welcome efforts to clarify the regulatory environment surrounding hemp products and look forward to similar regulatory clarity being availed federally.
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
A committee under the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources in South Carolina is currently reviewing a measure that, if passed, would regulate the state’s hemp industry. The state re-legalized the cultivation of industrial hemp in 2017, in accordance with the federal 2014 Farm Bill.
Senator Deon Tedder, who sponsored the regulation measure, introduced it in the Senate on January 14th this year. Tedder explained that businesses in the state wanted to follow the law as well as be protected and regulated while they operated legally in the state. This development comes after the Health and Environmental Control department introduced new regulations for hemp businesses last year.
Under the measure, each product on store shelves in the state would have to undergo testing and receive a Certificate of Analysis. Products containing hemp-derived cannabinoids would have to be tested to detect the amounts and presence of heavy metals, pesticides, mycotoxins, microbials, and residual solvents.
Additionally, every hemp retailer in South Carolina would have to be licensed, with the option of annual renewal after the validity period lapses. Legislators believe that this would ensure that all businesses were providing consistent and safe products to consumers. Under the measure, parties seeking licenses would need to consent to reasonable sampling and inspection of their product inventory by the department.
Backers of the measure add that the measure will allow consumers to know the contents of the hemp-based products they’re purchasing and/or consuming. David Spang, founder of Coastal Green Wellness, adds that the bill would also reduce the burden on consumers in the state. Spang explained that currently, consumers have the burden of ensuring that they find reputable establishments and businesses that offered safe products.
Through licenses, he noted, consumers would be assured that any product that they were purchasing in the state had undergone certain testing and safety measures.
The measure’s passage would also help generate revenue, with Tedder explaining that businesses would have to part with some monies for their licenses. These monies would then go towards the general fund to administer the program, eliminating the need for taxpayer money.
Under the measure, the department would also be allowed to deny or revoke licenses and issue civil penalties of up to one thousand dollars for violations like selling these hemp-derived products to minors, operating without a valid license, and knowingly distributing or selling samples of these products in a park or on a sidewalk and public street.
The wider hemp industry, including established nationwide operators like Software Effective Solutions Corp. (d/b/a MedCana) (OTC: SFWJ) welcome efforts to clarify the regulatory environment surrounding hemp products and look forward to similar regulatory clarity being availed federally.
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
