SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) – Cannabis industry leaders and lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are pushing for regulations on hemp products and a ban on those containing a synthetic THC intoxicant called Delta-8.
Products with it are chemically altered to concentrate THC, making it much more potent than hemp products that have no more than 0.3 percent of total THC like CBD.
“Without regulation, we have no idea what is really in these products,” Joseph Friedman, the former CEO of the former cannabis dispensary PDI Medical, said during a press conference Thursday. “That should be concerning to us all, especially since some of these intoxicating products are chemically modified, and widely available to young folks, teenagers and kids.”
Some products containing Delta-8 look similar to existing name brand products from candies, to cookies to bags of chips.
A bill in the Capitol would create a framework to regulate hemp products. That includes setting up standards for licensing, testing and labeling, similar to what’s already in place for cannabis.
The proposal would also put a ban on items that have synthetic THC intoxicants like Delta-8 until more studies and reviews can be done on its safety.
“The goal of this legislation is to empower consumers ensuring that they know exactly what they’re consuming and what they are,” Tiffany Chappell Ingram, the executive director of the Cannabis Business Association of Illinois, said. “We also want to protect the public health and maintain the integrity of our state’s long fought for legal cannabis industry, which is undermined by these unregulated products.”
Part of the confusion around regulations has to do with federal law. In 2018, Congress passed the Farm Bill, which defined hemp as being separate from marijuana and removed hemp from the schedule of controlled substances, legalizing hemp production within certain guidelines.
But experts say it also unintentionally legalized synthetic THC intoxicants like Delta-8.
“States are then left to try to impose a system that has no rules,” Chris Lindsey with the American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp said. “If a state does not have a set of regulations in place to limit these products to those who are 21 or older, or let’s look at what’s in these products, then there are no rules at all.”
Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle say these regulations are a must.
“It’s time for us as policymakers to intervene and to protect the consumers but especially to protect Illinois children,” State Rep. Norine Hammond, the Illinois House Deputy Republican Leader, said.
State Sen. Celina Villanueva (D-Chicago), warned about the impact on consumers if regulations aren’t put in place.
“Without proper oversight, consumers are left vulnerable to a myriad of risks from unknowingly consuming products with inaccurate THC levels to encountering harmful contaminants,” Villanueva said. “The absence of regulation leaves too much to chance.”
If the bill becomes law, people who violate it could face penalties. First offenses could have to pay a $1,000 fine. If a second offense happens within three years, they could face a $5,000 fine. Anything after that within a three year period would cost people $10,000.
