Is Big Marijuana Trying to Make CBD and Hemp Illegal?
A cannabis conundrum
Marijuana companies are trying to kill off the competition state by state
CBD and hemp based products are being threatened by an unlikely adversary: The marijuana industry.
Marijuana and hemp are two varieties of plants from the cannabis family. But this family is not getting along very well.
The current battleground is in Florida where marijuana lobbyists have pushed a bill (SB 1698) banning hemp and hemp derived THC. The bill has widespread support including from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
Specifically, the bill (HB 1613) seeks to ban consumable or vapes containing Delta-8 THC, Delta-10 THC, HHC, THCA, THCP, and THCV. This means no more hemp derived gummies, tinctures, vapes or drinks or edibles.
Currently, only medical marijuana is legal in Florida, but marijuana companies full recreational legalization on the November 2024 ballot.
The hemp industry has crashed the revenue party and has proven to be far more popular with consumers than marijuana. Instead of competing, the marijuana lobbyists are pushing to remove it from the marketplace.
"They have to get hemp products out of the way first right? They cannot have a competitor the way they are spending money because they want us gone," said Hometown Hero CBD Chief Strategist Cynthia Cabrera.
The main issue is this: Marijuana is illegal on the federal level. Hemp is legal on the federal level. Hemp was legalized with the historic passing of the 2018 Farm Bill. Marijuana is fighting for legalization state-by-state. Currently, 24 states have legalized recreational marijuana.
"This did not sit well with marijuana companies that had dumped millions of dollars into vertically integrated businesses. They had not captured the market because there were alternative available," said Cabrera.
So-called "big marijuana" companies and investors have poured hundreds of millions into their businesses, but they aren't getting the returns they expected.
"It's not all hippie activists anymore. It's all corporate conglomerates, that are trying to capture a market through regulation or prohibition," said Cabrera.
"Delta 8 made them aware that they had not caputred a market despite spending millions of dollars."
Hometown Hero CBD is one of the leading companies in the hemp industry. They have also been on the forefront of the cannbis battles in statehouses across the country. Tallahassee is only the latest battle ground.
"Kudos to the marijuana industry because they have put a bullseye on Delta 8 and the hemp industry."
CBD is in trouble too
Moreover, the proposed bill sets a cap on the naturally occurring Delta-9 THC in industrial hemp, limiting it to no more than 0.3% or 2 milligrams per serving, and a maximum of 10 milligrams per package of CBD or other hemp cannabinoids. This specification fills a gap left by the 2018 Farm Bill, which did not establish such specific restrictions.
The introduction of this legislation has been met with concern from nearly 500 hemp cultivators and approximately 10,000 retailers within Florida. Critics argue that it would negatively impact their businesses by limiting access to synthetic THC variants and essentially prohibiting full-spectrum CBD products.
Full spectrum products are used in everything from oral tinctures to topical pain relievers that CBD users say is extremely effective.
Since 2015, medical marijuana has been accessible to eligible patients in Florida, and a referendum to consider the legalization of recreational marijuana is slated for the November 5, 2024, ballot.
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