Florida lawmakers moved forward with restrictions on various cannabis products across the state. Proposals limiting the potency of recreational marijuana and hemp products advanced in the House and Senate Thursday.
“The THC level matters. It’s one thing if the plant is growing in its original form,” Sen. Rosalind Osgood, (D) Ft. Lauderdale, said on the Senate floor Thursday.
The Senate unanimously approved limits on how potent hemp products can be Thursday. Hemp was defined in the 2018 federal farm bill as anything from a Cannabis plant with a low concentration of THC, the chemical that gets people high.
Last year, state lawmakers put restrictions on the budding industry, such as banning packages targeting children and requiring buyers to be 21. Thursday, the Senate approved more restrictions on packaging and even lower THC levels than the federal definition. Florida Cannabis Action Network Executive Director Jodi James said this will force many hemp businesses to close.
“We are shutting down an industry, the hemp industry, that has been growing for more than six years in this state. And we’re really putting a thumb on that,” James said.
Another blow to the industry would be if recreational marijuana becomes legal. Lawmakers are trying to get a handle on that before it happens. Thursday, a House committee advanced a proposal that would limit how potent recreational marijuana could be.
“Our organization doesn’t think this is going to be the way the adults are going to want to be treated when they go to the recreational market to get these products,” James said.
A ballot amendment petition on recreational marijuana has enough signatures to make the November ballot. The Florida Supreme Court is still deciding whether to approve the amendment’s language. But state lawmakers say now is the time to get into the weeds of the issue.
“I do agree we need to have solid regulation around the recreational use of marijuana,” Rep. Dana Trabulsy, (R) Fort Pierce, said.
Both bills have joint versions in the other chamber. The hemp proposal heads to the House floor after clearing its final committee on Thursday. The Senate bill on recreational pot has another committee stop before a full vote.
The hemp industry has grown into a $16 billion industry in Florida.
