A Victory in UT but Work to do in AK, MT, and TN

First things first, there’s cause for celebration. We recently called on you to urge legislators to improve Utah SB 39, which would have made it illegal to add CBD to a food or alcoholic beverage, undoing years of efforts to deliver safe and beneficial products to Utah residents. Thanks to your efforts, a significantly improved version of the bill was signed into law this month. The new law explicitly authorizes the production, sale, and use of CBD products added to conventional food if the product is packaged, contains no more than 25mg of CBD per serving, and is not marketed to children. The law also allows adding CBD to alcoholic beverages if the beverages are not marketed to children. And the law allows the sale of registered hemp flower products that meet certain labeling and packaging requirements to those 21 and older.

But the work continues. This week, we alert you to the following:

State Alert:

Alaska

SB 27 would require regulators to allow the manufacturing and retail sale of hemp products and to establish a registration system for hemp program participants. In the event a processor produces hemp with more than 0.3% delta-9 THC, the processor is not automatically in violation, but rather is allowed to retain and recondition the product. We encourage Alaska Hemp Supporters to use our State Action Center to urge state legislators to support SB 27.

State Alert:

Montana

SB 381 is a really bad bill. The bill would add a unique 4% gross sales tax on hemp-derived CBD. The tax would wreak economic havoc on CBD retailers and is likely to get passed on to consumers. The bill would also prohibit the sale of hemp-derived CBD products to individuals under 18 years old. We encourage Montana Hemp Supporters to use our State Action Center to urge state legislators to oppose SB 381.

State Alert:

Tennessee

SB 694/HB 715 would authorize the transportation of “hemp concentrate” containing up to 5% THC to a location where the product would be reconstituted into consumer products with less than 0.3% THC. This is an especially important allowance for in-process hemp extract that may temporarily exceed 0.3% THC. We encourage Tennessee Hemp Supporters to use our State Action Center to urge state legislators to support SB 694 and HB 715.