LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- After threatening to temporarily ban the sale of intoxicating THC-infused drinks, lawmakers have changed a proposal to regulate them.
The beverages have been popping up all over the state of Kentucky. They are legal under a federal farm bill passed in 2018. The bill allows THC-infused beverages if the dry weight is under .3%, but it has opened a so-called loophole for beverages that are intoxicating, despite following the federal law.
"There was this disconnect between, well, we've never passed recreational marijuana, but we have, as a result of a federal loophole. Products now that are essentially recreational marijuana," Sen. Julie Raque Adams, R-Louisville, said.
Lawmakers started to talk about regulating THC beverages in September, Adams said, but felt there wasn't much response from stakeholders and hemp business owners.
Wednesday, Adams presented Senate Bill 202. It would put a temporary ban on selling THC-infused drinks until next summer, so the state and the Cabinet for Health and Family Services can come up with reasonable regulations.
The bill got business owners like Cornbread Hemp in Louisville talking.
"We've invested over a million dollars in a product that we will not be able to sell if the moratorium goes into place," Jim Higdon, co-founder of Cornbread Hemp, said Wednesday. "I understand there is a lot of 'yes' votes in this committee, my only ask is that we have time to amend the bill and set a THC cap instead of a moratorium."
Adams listened, and amended the bill to remove the temporary ban and add a cap of 5mg of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, per beverage. The drinks would also be classified like alcoholic beverages and enforced by Alcoholic Beverage Control.
"The adults don't know what it does to them, so we can't expect a kid to know what those effects are going to be," said Adams. "Just really needed to rein in how these are proliferating across our state so that we do it in a really safe and meaningful way."
Friday, SB 202 passed the Senate floor. It now heads to the House, where it will be heard first in committee.
If the bill becomes law, it would take effect immediately. But, as it stands now, there's a grace period for retailers to sell off their inventory that wouldn't meet the proposed regulations without penalty.
To read the current version of the bill, click here.
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