Dispensary owners react to spending bill closing hemp loophole
Critics of the measure, which closes a hemp loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill, said it will devastate the hemp industry.
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Edible gummies and THC drinks have exploded in popularity, but the recently passed spending bill that ended the shutdown may take some of those products off shelves.
Critics of the measure, which closes a hemp loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill, said it will devastate the hemp industry.
Despite that concern, some state licensed cannabis dispensaries are for the move.
"At the end of the day, it benefits us because you take out some competition," said Alex Norman, owner of Budega NYC in Park Slope.
Norman sells edibles like gummies and THC drinks, which are infused with THC derived from marijuana and would not be impacted.
He hopes the regulation of hemp derived THC may help bring down the number of illegal smoke shops in the city, who sell products that mostly come from out of state and are unregulated.
The new rule would essentially ban most consumable intoxicating hemp products that have more than 0.4 milligrams of THC.
"That loophole caused lack of age gating and a plethora of unsafe products to flood the market," said Shannon Riley with All Good Cannabis Dispensary in Flatbush.
Riley is for closing the hemp loophole.
She is a hemp farmer herself and said New York Farms are heavily regulated by the state.
"I really don't see it impacting those CBD companies who have been doing this for a long time, who are used to this 0.3%," she said.
Riley hopes the new law, which will take effect in about a year, will lead to safer products.
