Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) ordered the Texas Senate in April to consider banning hemp-derived psychoactive products containing Delta-8 and Delta-9 THC.
The Texas Senate won’t be in session until next year, but Patrick wants the Senate Committee on State Affairs to begin researching whether to ban the substances before it starts. Under federal law, Delta-8 and Delta-9 THC products are legal as long as they are sourced from hemp. However, both have psychoactive properties.
Meanwhile, a case weighing the legality of Delta-8 THC products is currently being considered in the Texas Supreme Court.
A coalition of attorneys general from across the country last month sent a letter to congressional agriculture committees that called for stricter laws on which hemp products are allowed to be manufactured and sold under the federal Farm Bill. The letter called for lawmakers to fix the “glaring vagueness” of the 2018 Farm Bill “that has led to the proliferation of intoxicating hemp products.”
If Congress changes the definition of hemp in the bill, it could spell the end for Delta-8 and Delta-9 markets in a number of states.
NJ Lawmaker Proposes Price Cap
A New Jersey state senator wants to put a pricing cap on the state’s medical marijuana products.
According to the New Jersey Monitor, Sen. Troy Singleton (D) used a Pennsylvania statute as a model for the bill, which would allow the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission to set six-month price caps on dispensaries, manufacturers and producers if their prices are deemed “unreasonable and inconsistent” with wholesale costs.
Singleton called the state’s medical cannabis prices “concerning.” Advocates say the state’s high prices — an eighth of an ounce can reportedly be found for around $60 — are due to corporate control over the market. The majority of New Jersey’s cannabis producers are large corporations while only a few are independent.
Singleton told reporters that it’s hard to get any cannabis reform bills passed in the state’s Legislature. He said the price cap bill hasn’t progressed beyond private conversations.
Newsom Touts Wins Over Illicit Weed
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said his administration is leading the way in stopping illicit marijuana trade in the state.
A news release from Newsom’s office highlighted the governor’s efforts to halt black market marijuana sales and reported the state’s Unified Cannabis Enforcement Task Force has seized over $61 million in illegal cannabis products since January. Officials have reportedly seized nearly 36,600 pounds of unlicensed weed and destroyed 62,000 illegal plants since the beginning of the year.
“Putting a stop to illegal cannabis operations also means stopping organized crime, human trafficking, and the spread of illegal products that harm the health of Californians and our environment,” Newsom said.