Plans to start allowing low-dosage THC drinks and other products in Michigan outside of marijuana dispensaries hit a snag this week. THC is the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.
The issue stems from the deal that re-opened the federal government. That agreement included language cracking down on how much THC a federally legal hemp product could contain.
Under the federal 2018 Farm Bill, which opened the door for some hemp sales, products under 0.3% THC by dry weight became legal.
Instead of relying on percentages, the new restrictions Congress agreed to this week cap acceptable THC amounts at 0.4mg. Common low-dosage cannabis products currently available typically contain 1-2.5mg of THC.The new regulations give the industry a year to adjust.
Former state Representative Graham Filler is working with the Hemp Beverage Alliance. He said he hopes state lawmakers keep working on bills to expand hemp product sales in case that federal crackdown gets walked back.
“I feel like we got so far down the road with great bipartisan, bicameral, legislative support and stakeholder support, why not create that framework?” Filler said.
Michigan lawmakers had been working on ways to support the cannabis industry after passing a new 24% wholesale tax on it last month as part of a state budget deal.
Aside from limiting licenses for what growers and sellers argue is an oversaturated market, selling consumable hemp products in places like liquor stores, restaurants, and bars seemed promising for the industry.
“A lot of people who invested have not made their money back because they’re battling with the black market and they have too much flower,” Filler said. “All of the sudden, you’ve got this new industry which can be sold in so many places and has a wide range of support, I think it would have been or could still be a massive deal.
”Despite bipartisan support and committee hearings having taken place in both the state House of Representatives and Senate, lawmakers may not want to continue working on the hemp legislation until the federal government chooses what to do.
State Representative Joseph Aragona (R-Clinton Twp) chairs the House Regulatory Reform Committee. He was among the lawmakers working with stakeholders on passing new bills.
Aragona said he sees validity in both getting ready for the federal government to ease its hemp policies and holding off for concrete action.
“The uncertainty is really what’s kind of killing us at this point as to why we might not move forward at a state level,” he said.
Aragona said one challenge would be getting lawmakers to go through the work of passing bills and setting new regulations for an industry that could become largely outlawed in a year.
“It’s a lot harder to do that now with a limited time frame. I mean, it’s easier to do nothing than to do something. Especially when this is something involving THC and having that policy actually get voted on at a federal level. I think that makes it a lot tougher,” he said.
More conversations on what the state’s next steps should be could come in the next few weeks and months. In the meantime, Aragona described the situation as the federal government calling off the game right as the team was getting ready to score.
“We're still reeling from that and, you know, once we get back on our feet and think through this process and what it really looks like, you know, we'll have better answers,” he said.
