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FL Media Report: Florida hemp industry fears for the worse as regulations loom

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The Florida Phoenix reports

More than 20 states have passed similar restrictions on hemp products

Hemp entrepreneurs from all parts of Florida have made the trek twice to Tallahassee this month to testify against a legislative proposal that they say poses an existential threat to their livelihoods.

At the same time, states around the country have been enacting regulations regarding intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids, and that’s become a conundrum for all sides of the hemp debate.

Florida’s hemp program went into effect in 2019, shortly after the passage of the 2018 farm bill, which made hemp production and distribution legal under federal law and allowed states to create hemp programs. The farm bill defined hemp as the cannabis plant with one key difference: hemp cannot contain more than 0.3 percent of THC, the compound in the plant associated with getting you high.

The most lucrative part of the hemp industry has involved the production of biomass that contains cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychoactive compound believed to treat health conditions like anxiety, stress, anxiety and inflation.

But a new measure introduced in the Florida House this spring (HB 1475) would limit the amount of THC in hemp products to not exceed 5 milligrams per serving or 50 milligrams per package and prohibit those products to anyone under the age of 21. The Senate version calls for such products not to exceed 0.5 milligrams per serving, or just 2 milligrams per package.

Completely ineffective

Vendors and patients say those levels are far too low and would make hemp products like gummies, CBD pre-rolls and oils and tinctures completely ineffective.

“I have lupus and tremors and it’s one of the reasons why I got into this business, so that I could make sure that the medicine that I received was the best and top quality,” says Shaina Ortiz, the CEO of Siesta G based in eastern Hillsborough County.

 

“I operate on about 1,000 milligrams a day of hemp-derivative products. All different spectrums of that hemp derived products. This bill essentially would knock out any form of hemp, CBD’s, HHC’s (hexahydrocannabinol) CBN (cannabinol). The whole entire plant.”

Matt Schwarmann, the vice president of Outpost Brands, a Daytona Beach hemp manufacturer with 142 employees, says the current packaging limits would eliminate “virtually every hemp product” on the market.

“Every vape and cartridge would all be eliminated, and when you have gummies of such small efficacy doses, less than 5 milligrams – that’s not enough for the majority of people who are using it strictly as therapeutic uses,” he says.

Their fears are not unfounded, says Nikki Fried, now chair of the Florida Democratic Party.

“The exact intent of this bill is to eliminate 189,000 jobs and 10,000 small businesses,” the former state Agriculture Commissioner told the Phoenix.

What about Delta-8?

Overall, the bill calls for hemp products to be illegal for anyone under 21 years of age; it requires packaging, labeling and testing requirements for hemp-based products; it requires that hemp products be sold in a container that is “not attractive to children” and is designed to minimize exposure to light and high temperatures; and puts limits on doses and on the packages.

It’s that last provision which is raising serious concerns.

One of the main products that legislators want to regulate is what is known as Delta-8, which is legal and soared in popularity in 2020 at hemp and CBD stores around the country.

 Board displayed at news conference held at the Department of Agriculture’s office in the Capitol on March 22, 2023 (Photo credit: Mitch Perry) 

 

 

 

But Delta-8 also has psychoactive and intoxicating effects, says the FDA, though those who have consumed it say that it provides a lighter and more relaxed feeling and is ideal for those who don’t want to get high from medical cannabis.

Nevertheless more than twenty states have banned or restricted Delta-8 use in the past two years.

“Some will say that this bill will end the hemp industry,” Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson said. He was at a press conference in the Department of Agriculture’s office in the Capitol last week next to a display of photos of high-THC products that had been discovered in convenience stores by agriculture inspectors.

“Let me be clear – the current wild, wild west situation, selling anything to anybody, is going to end. We will close the loopholes in state law being exploited to sell euphoric recreational cannabis products without restrictions,” Simpson said.

The black market

Carlos Hermida is the owner and manager of Chillum Glass Gallery and Hemp Dispensary that’s based in the heart of Ybor City in Tampa.

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Florida hemp industry fears for the worse as regulations loom



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Latina woman alleges she was denied job with cannabis nonprofit because she’s not Black

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A Latina from Lawndale is suing an organization that bills itself as fighting for “cannabis justice” with a goal to “heal the legacy of racism in America,” alleging she was told she was not chosen for a position with the nonprofit in 2023 because she is not Black.

Briseida Lupercio Chavez’s Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit against the Hood Incubator alleges racial discrimination, retaliation and wrongful failure to hire in violation of public policy. She seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

A Hood Incubator representative did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the suit brought Jan. 5.

According to the suit, the Hood Incubator’s website states its purpose is to fight for “cannabis justice” and to “heal the legacy of racism in America . . . for the health and prosperity” of everyone.

“However, despite its stated vision of being an anti-racist organization, its blatantly discriminatory hiring practices could not be more contradictory to its stated purpose,” the suit states.

Chavez interviewed for a position with the Hood Incubator via Zoom last July with two organization representatives, one of whom is a managing agent, the suit states. The two representatives remained on the Zoom call after the interview and spent 10 minutes talking about why they were  not interested in hiring Chavez because she is not Black, the suit states.

Both representatives mocked Chavez’s race and for saying she had biracial children, telling the plaintiff they found her comments “off- putting” and falsely implying that she only claims to care about Black people because she has Black kids and friends,” according to the suit.

One of the representatives told Chavez that because she is a Latina, she is used to the Latino community “pulling strings for each other,” the suit states.

Chavez was “embarrassed, ashamed, emotionally broken and in financial desperation” after learning that she was not hired allegedly due to her race, national origin and/or color,” the suit states.

Latina woman alleges she was denied job with cannabis nonprofit because she’s not Black

 



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Man allegedly killed roommate, went back to sleep and bought some cannabis before others implored him to call 911

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It is, of course, a law & crime story..

A Maryland man insisted that he shot his roommate in self-defense, but admitted he only called 911 after going back to sleep, buying some marijuana, and communicating with people who implored him to contact authorities, according to court documents obtained by Washington, D.C., NBC affiliate WRC and Fox affiliate WTTG.

Richard Bennaugh, 38, is charged with manslaughter, assault in the first degree, assault in the second degree, and possession of a firearm as someone convicted of a violent felony, show from Prince George’s County show.

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‘There’s only one way to find out’: Man allegedly killed roommate, went back to sleep and bought some weed before others implored him to call 911



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Illegal immigrant cannabis farmer, 30, is allowed to remain in Britain – because being sent back to Serbia would breach his human rights

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The Daily Mail get over excited once again…

A migrant who was jailed over a cannabis farm worth half a million pounds has been granted permission to stay in the UK after successfully arguing he could not be deported as he no longer spoke his native language.

Clirim Kukaj, 30, is ethnically Albanian but was born and brought up in Serbia until at the age of 13 he entered Britain illegally. Seven years later he was granted indefinite leave to remain.

Kukaj and his lawyers have now successfully appealed his deportation on the grounds that returning him to his native country would be a breach of his human rights because he cannot speak the language and can only converse in Albanian.

Immigrational tribunal judge Fiona Lindsley granted the appeal ‘on human rights grounds’, however, the decision has sparked renewed calls for human rights laws to be reconsidered.

A senior Conservative MP told the Telegraph: ‘This demonstrates why we need urgent reform of the asylum system and human rights laws to allow the rapid and effective deportation of dangerous criminals.’

More Blah here

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12941079/Migrant-cannabis-farmer-allowed-remain-Britain-human-right-no-longer-speak-language.html



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