State lawmakers and cannabis industry representatives began working out details of a bill that would regulate products here made with hemp-derived THC.
As it is written now, the bill would would ban the sale or possession of products that contain Delta 8, HHC, THC-O, and any others that have a THC concentration of more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis, which is already the federal legal limit for such products.
The bill is sponsored by state Rep. William Lamberth (R-Portland) and Senator Richard Briggs (R-Knoxville). Both bills moved ahead Wednesday in the legislative process with positive votes from a House Criminal Justice subcommittee and the Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee.
A recent fiscal review of the proposal says retailers would stop selling the products, costing state and local tax coffers $4.8 million in the next fiscal year and $1.9 million in the years following. The Tennessee Department of Corrections projected that felony incarcerations would rise by one each year if the bill was passed, adding $2,900 in state costs per year.
In Wednesday’s hearing, Rep. Lamberth said there are no regulations on these products, including the Delta 8 gummies that are widely available, and there are no packaging requirements on these products. He said 115 people overdosed on these products, specifically Delta 8 products, last year because they contain “extraordinarily” high levels of THC, and 30 percent of those people were under the age of five.
The state and federal laws already set THC levels at 0.3 percent in these products. But products with higher concentrations are “being sold all over Tennessee. So, we must not have made it clear enough when we passed this before.” For all of this and more, Lamberth said he wants to clear up confusion on the issue for business owners and consumers.
There needs to be a specific, consistent expectation for customers of this product.
Rep. William Lamberth (R-Portland)
”This needs to be a clear cut line,” Lamberth said. “There needs to be a specific, consistent expectation for customers of this product. I have heard from folks that said, ‘Well, look, I was buying this product from this retailer and it had this effect. Then, I switched to this one over here and it had a drastically different effect.’
“Again, there’s no standards here. This needs to be clear cut as to what is and is not legal and what exactly is on the shelves.”
Tennessee cannabis company owners testified before the committee Wednesday, with many arguing that the issue needs a scalpel while Lamberth’s bill was a blunt instrument. If the bill were to be passed as it is now, it would constitute a ban on these products, and cost many their livelihoods.
Debate on the issue was calm and level-headed Wednesday. Lamberth said before the vote that while the bill was likely to pass out of Wednesday’s subcommittee, it will be up for debate and for testimony in other committees, and, perhaps, a final debate on the House floor. He invited all of the leaders from the cannabis companies to his office to speak about the bill as it progresses.
“Quite frankly, there’s not as much daylight between where I am and where you guys are,” Lamberth said, speaking to the company representatives. “It’s just a matter of figuring that out.”