In the last year, you might have noticed a proliferation of THC gummies well beyond the walls of Alaska’s recreational marijuana stores. They’re legal because they’re taking advantage of a loophole in the federal farm bill’s hemp laws that allow trace amounts of THC in the final product.
It’s not enough for hemp rope to be intoxicating, but it can be when concentrated down and applied to edibles. And that’s been a headache for Alaska’s recreational marijuana industry.
Now, a year after Alaska recreational cannabis businesses started flagging the hemp-derived products as an issue—both because they’re untaxed and unwelcome competition and because they don’t have age restrictions—the state is taking action to limit them. The Division of Agriculture has published proposed regulations that would bar any products going through the state’s hemp program from containing intoxicating elements.
Those regulations could go into effect later this summer, but not everyone in the Alaska industry is thrilled.
At a meeting of the Alaska Marijuana Control Board to approve a letter supporting the regulations earlier this week, several people involved in the recreational marijuana and CBD markets warned that the regulations would have unwanted side effects. Kerby Coman told the board he worried the regulations would undercut many popular CBD products that are sold as “full-spectrum” with small amounts of cannabinoids, including THC. He argued that trace amounts of THC are part of the territory with hemp.
“What about hemp flower that’s grown raw? That’s going to have an amount of THC in it. Are you guys going to outlaw farmers up here that are trying to sell their hemp flower?” he asked. “Now you’re completely removing any hemp flower because there is no hemp flower out there that has zero THC.”
He said he agreed with the need to put an age gate on the products but called the regulations heavy-handed.
“Completely removing THC as a whole does not make sense,” he said, “and it’d be really damaging.”
Other businesses, including some from the CBD market, voiced support for the regulations. Many focused in on the possibility that hemp-derived products could end up in the hands of minors because of the lack of age restrictions. Others said it was the best way for the cannabis industry and the hemp industry to avoid future trouble.
Members of the board recognized that the regulations weren’t perfect—its letter notes some areas of confusion when it comes to how transferring oversight to AMCO will work—but stressed that it’s important to take action now when the intoxicating products are available regardless of age.
“It’s a controversial issue. We’ve heard through public comment some very different perspectives on it,” said board member Bruce Schulte, thanking AMCO Director Joan Wilson for working with the Division of Agriculture to find a workable solution. “I don’t think that anything that (the Division of Agriculture) does is going to be perfect, and I agree that entrepreneurs do what entrepreneurs do best, and I applaud that right up to the point where it starts to impact public safety. That’s the fine line we’re trying to walk.”
Matt Acuña Buxton is a long-time political reporter who has written for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and The Midnight Sun political blog. He also authors the daily politics newsletter, The Alaska Memo, and can frequently be found live-tweeting public meetings on Twitter.
