Latest news with #KentuckyDepartmentofAlcoholicBeverageControl
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
KY Senate votes to regulate intoxicating hemp beverages but drops sales ban
Sen. Julie Raque Adams, R-Louisville, listens as Sen. David Yates, D-Louisville, explains his opposition to the current version of Senate Bill 202. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Liam Niemeyer) The Kentucky Senate advanced a bill Friday that would regulate intoxicating hemp-derived beverages but without banning their sales as first proposed. The bill's sponsor, Sen. Julie Raque Adams, R-Louisville, amended Senate Bill 202 after Republicans and Democrats alike expressed skepticism about the ban when the measure was approved by a committee earlier this week. Adams's floor amendment removed the temporary sales ban and would instead impose a cap of 5 milligrams of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, on cannabis-derived drinks. The bill adds regulation of the intoxicating beverages to state laws that regulate alcoholic beverages, giving the Kentucky Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control the authority to oversee their distribution and sale. Raque Adams said her floor amendment provided a 'really solid starting point to put guardrails around this product so it doesn't get in the hands of our children, guardrails for public health and guardrails for safety while maintaining the small business interests that we have seen across the commonwealth.' 'We are treating cannabis-infused beverages exactly like we're treating alcohol,' Adams said. As canned hemp-derived beverages containing THC have been gaining popularity across the country and popping up in convenience stores, state governments have increasingly sought to regulate them. SB 202 passed the Senate by a vote of 29-6 with the minority of Democrats opposing the legislation, arguing that, while they agreed with regulating the beverages, the legislation was rushed and that senators and the public were not given enough time to understand the changes. Sen. David Yates, D-Louisville, said he worried about trying to digest large changes to the bill, noting some hemp-derived beverages have mixtures of various cannabinoids. Sen. Karen Berg, D-Louisville, questioned the 5 milligram THC limit because she didn't know how the THC in the beverages is absorbed compared to gummies or cannabis flower. 'I think when we're dealing with something that is regulating an industry that is currently legal, we have to be able to hear from that industry to make sure that we're getting these regulations correct and that there aren't any unintended consequences,' said. Sen. Cassie Chambers Armstrong, D-Louisville. She said Adams' bill 'might be the perfect place for us to land' for regulation but that she did not have the information to know for sure. Raque Adams used a 'shell' bill as a vehicle for addressing hemp-derived beverages after the deadline for filing bills had passed. The original SB 202 made minor technical changes in the law before Raque Adams replaced its contents with her bill. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Kentucky Senate moves to regulate vape retailers, punish ‘bad actors'
Sen. Jimmy Higdon, R-Lebanon, filed a bill, which passed the Senate, to add harsher penalties for retailers who sell vaping products to minors. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Sarah Ladd) FRANKFORT — Kentucky's Senate is moving to add harsher penalties for retailers who sell vaping products to minors. Sen. Jimmy Higdon, R-Lebanon's Senate Bill 100 passed 33-3 on Wednesday. The three who voted against it — Sens. Robby Mills, Aaron Reed and Lindsey Tichenor — are all Republican. The legislation would license all retailers who sell tobacco and vape products, giving the Kentucky Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control inspection and enforcement powers over them, similar to those it exercises over alcohol retailers. 'This bill has teeth,' Higdon said on the Senate floor. It's 'not aimed at responsible retailers who follow rules,' he said, and is aimed at 'protecting our youth.' The bill would also fine retailers who sell to minors, and revoke their licenses on their fourth violation. Clerks who sell to minors would be fined $100 per violation. Shop owners would receive a notice after the first violation then be fined $500 on the second offense and then $1,000. Upon a fourth violation, retailers would lose their license and not be able to renew it for two years. Fine money will be split between enforcement expenses and youth prevention programs. Smoking is a leading cause of preventable death across the country, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. In Kentucky, smoking and lung cancer rates exceed those in the rest of the nation. About 17% of Kentucky adults smoke compared to 11% nationally. In Kentucky, 5% of high school students smoke and almost 20% use e-cigarettes, according to The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Smoking costs the state more than $2 billion every year in health complications, according to the campaign. Under Higdon's bill, retailers who operate without a license would face criminal charges: the first offence would be a Class B misdemeanor, followed by a Class A misdemeanor. The third and subsequent offenses would be Class D felonies. The bill 'is about holding the bad actors accountable,' Higdon said. 'If you sell without a license, you will face serious consequences. If you sell to underage individuals, there will be financial and legal consequences.' The bill now goes to the House for committee consideration. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bill would clamp down on ‘bad actors' selling nicotine to youth, says sponsor
Sen. Jimmy Higdon, R-Lebanon, says most Kentucky retailers are following the law by not selling nicotine products to underage buyers. (LRC Public Information) Sen. Jimmy Higdon, R-Lebanon, has filed a bill that he promised would add 'teeth' to Kentucky laws aimed at keeping nicotine products out of the hands of kids. Higdon's Senate Bill 100, filed Thursday, seeks to license all retailers who sell tobacco and vape products, giving the Kentucky Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control inspection and enforcement powers over them, similar to those it exercises over alcohol retailers. Kentucky law prohibits the sale of tobacco and vaping products and alcohol to those younger than 21. SB 100 also establishes a framework for fining sales clerks who violate the law by selling products to underage buyers as well as the shop owner. Clerks would be fined $100 per violation. Shop owners would receive a notice after the first violation, then be fined $500 on the second offense and then $1,000. Upon a fourth violation, retailers would lose their license and not be able to renew it for two years, according to the bill. Half of the fine money would go to 'a youth program directed at targeting and educating youth on the dangers of tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, and vapor products,' according to the bill. The other half goes to the 'cost of enforcement.' 'I've been a retail store owner, and I know for a fact the vast majority of Kentucky's retailers take their responsibility seriously and follow the law because they understand the dangers of youth vaping, and smoking and drinking for that matter,' Higdon said in a Friday statement. 'This bill isn't about punishing responsible business owners — it's about holding bad actors accountable. Those who repeatedly sell to minors are making life harder for the honest retailers who play by the rules, and we're going to put a stop to it.' In Kentucky, smoking and lung cancer rates exceed those in the rest of the nation. About 17% of Kentucky adults smoke vs. 11% nationally. In Kentucky, 5% of high school students smoke and almost 20% use e-cigarettes, according to The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Smoking costs the state more than $2 billion every year in health complications, according to the campaign. New restrictions on vape sales in Kentucky win approval with tobacco industry backing Smoking is also a leading cause of preventable death across the country, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. 'As policymakers, we can't just sit back while kids develop lifelong addictions,' Higdon said. Also on Thursday, youth advocates with #iCANendthetrend at the University of Kentucky, which is student-run and provides prevention tools to Kentuckians, met with lawmakers to throw their support behind strengthening protections from the vape industry. Griffin Nemeth, a youth advisory board coordinator for the hashtag movement, told the Senate Education Committee that 'licensing of retailers is not an anti-business decision.' 'Youth are suffering from this crisis,' he said. 'The industry has strategically manipulated them for years and years and years.' Licensing retailers, he said, 'is an opportunity to protect public health, to protect the public health of our youngest generation.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
