Latest news with #RaqueAdams
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
06-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bill banning hemp beverages could crater industry in Kentucky, critics warn
FRANKFORT, Ky. — A revised bill that would ban the sale of THC beverages in Kentucky is moving through the General Assembly after a committee meeting Wednesday evening, despite concerns over how the legislation could affect the burgeoning industry. Senate Bill 202, from Sen. Julie Raque Adams, R-Louisville, was filed last month, with language at the time that would have changed "web site" to "website" in an obscure state statute. Ahead of Wednesday's meeting, the bill was rewritten to temporarily ban the sale of hemp-based drinks in Kentucky. The new version of the bill was not publicly available online as of Thursday morning. It was approved by the Senate Licensing and Occupations Committee on a 7-2 vote but faces an uncertain future — with some supporters even questioning whether they'd be able to vote in favor of the bill on the Senate floor. Sens. Jimmy Higdon, R-Lebanon, and Michael Nemes, R-Shepherdsville, voted against it, while two Louisville Democrats, Sens. Cassie Chambers Armstrong and Karen Berg, passed during the vote, citing a need for more information. Sen. Stephen Meredith, R-Leitchfield, voted in favor of it in the committee meeting but said he would not repeat that vote in the Senate if a proposed moratorium on sales remains in the bill. The new language in the bill would ban the sale of drinks containing hemp and cannabinoid products until July 2026 to allow further studies to take place. It would also call on the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to put new regulations in place by the start of 2026 (regulations for some hemp products currently exist, Raque Adams said, but they do not apply to beverages) and would require the University of Kentucky to study manufacturing, testing procedure, distribution, sales and consumer effects. Raque Adams said the moratorium isn't ideal, but the bill would address "a really serious issue, because we have an explosion of intoxicating beverages that are being sold to places that are available to kids, and there's really no regulatory structure around it." "In order to get the conversation moving in the right direction, we felt like we had to put (the moratorium) in there," she said after the meeting. "We had to show how serious we were taking this issue." CFHS is currently in charge of regulating the industry in Kentucky. Hemp-based products are not supposed to be sold to anyone under 21. Hemp beverages are a growing industry nationally. The Washington Post reported hemp-based beverages brought in an estimated $382 million in sales in 2024, with indications that figure could rise to nearly $750 million by 2029. Still, the industry has been met with pushback in some states. California has banned products infused with THC — the intoxicating chemical in cannabis, a plant family that includes hemp — along with states such as Colorado and New York. Jim Higdon, CCO and co-founder of Louisville-based Cornbread Hemp (and the son of Sen. Higdon), criticized the bill as one that could significantly hurt his business and took issue with the speed in which it advanced in the legislature. The deadline to file new bills was two weeks ago, but Adams was able to file the proposal through a "shell bill" — a piece of legislation put forward before the deadline that's later rewritten. "Because of this surprise beverage ban, Cornbread Hemp could lose its entire beverage investment," Higdon said in a statement before testifying at the hearing. "This is a manufactured emergency generated by special interests trying to keep Kentucky in the past. We will fight this until the last day of the session." Cornbread Hemp employs more than 70 people and has shipped more than 600,000 orders, according to the company. It announced a $1 million expansion last week that would create more than 50 new jobs, with support from Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg and Greater Louisville Inc. CEO Sarah Davasher-Wisdom. Higdon said a moratorium would end the momentum Cornbread Hemp and similar companies have at their backs. Dee Dee Taylor, the CEO and founder of 502 Hemp who testified alongside Higdon, added even a temporary ban would "kill their business in the state." "Once you lose ground in a state, you don't come back, you move on," she said, noting online retailers can ship directly to customers, giving an edge in the meantime to companies outside Kentucky. Two organizations reported lobbying on "intoxicating hemp" during January, according to Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission records — the Kentucky Restaurant Association and Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of Kentucky. That organization's chief lobbyist, Charles George, told The Courier Journal in a text message its members "simply want intoxicating hemp beverages regulated in the same manner as alcoholic beverages." Raque Adams, co-chair of the Senate committee, said discussions about a hemp beverage bill first took place during an interim committee meeting in September but stalled through the fall until the General Assembly reconvened in January. Committee chairs often file shell bills "just in case something comes up," she said. In this case, another legislator had been working on a hemp beverage bill as well, but the pair were unable to come to an agreement with stakeholders about what the legislation should look like. "We're running out of days. We had to giddy up and go," she said. "That's why I said 'I've got a shell bill that can fit, kind of enhancing this regulatory framework.'" The bill still faces a full vote in the Senate before being sent to the House. Legislators will meet through next week before recessing for a 10-day veto period, then reconvening for two days at the end of the month. Reach Lucas Aulbach at laulbach@ This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky bill would ban sale of THC drinks
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Yahoo
Kentucky urged to increase criminal penalties, education to protect kids from ‘sextortion'
From October 2021 to March 2023, there were at least 13,000 national cases of sexual extortion, according to Kentucky Youth Advocates data. (Getty Images) This story discusses sexual extortion. Report sexual extortion to the FBI at 1-800-335-5324. The Human Trafficking help hotline is 1-888-373-7888. Chat live: FRANKFORT — Kentucky's laws haven't caught up to the digital age and rampant sexual extortion targeting children, advocates said Wednesday. That's why they're pushing for swift passage of Senate Bill 73, which makes sextual extortion — or sextortion — a felony. The bill would also make it easier to collect legal damages from a perpetrator and require schools to educate children about what sextortion is. Sexual extortion is when a perpetrator obtains a sexually explicit photo and threatens to release it if the victim doesn't meet their demands, which could be monetary, sexual or other kinds of blackmail. SB 73 sponsor Sen. Julie Raque Adams, R-Louisville, called the practice 'calculated' and 'cruel.' 'Being a kid today is very different than when we grew up,' Raque Adams said during a news conference at the Capitol Annex. 'Social media and technology have changed the way young people connect, but it's also opened the door to new dangers that we never had to face before.' The current punishment for sextortion can be a 'patchwork' of legal charges, said Jaime Thompson, the program coordinator of People Against Trafficking Humans (PATH) Coalition of Kentucky. Putting something specific on the books would deter more predators, she and others said. From October 2021 to March 2023, there were at least 13,000 national cases of sextortion, according to Kentucky Youth Advocates data. Child victims of sextortion sometimes end their own lives, advocates said, because of shame and fear. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 988. Advocates, the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations offer these tips for staying safe online: Close or cover the camera lens on cell phones, computers and other devices, especially when undressing or changing clothes. Assume cameras can be activated remotely. Do not undress with a camera lens pointed at you. Be careful what you share online. Report suspicious behavior. Block suspicious accounts. Don't accept a friend request from anyone online that you don't know in real life. Don't give any personal contact info to anyone you don't know in real life. If someone you don't know asks for personally identifying information, do not comply. Do not share your passwords with anyone. Don't use passwords that may be easy to guess. Don't click on links in emails when they come from people you don't know. For parents: teach kids to report threats. Discuss online safety with them and encourage them to disclose when they receive suspicious communication. 'Sexual extortion is one of the most dangerous and rapidly growing crimes targeting our young people today,' Raque Adams said. 'It is calculated, it is cruel and it thrives on fear and silence.' Her bill has been assigned to the Judiciary committee, and is on Thursday's agenda. A sister bill in the House has also been assigned to the House Judiciary committee. Frankfort Police Detective Ricky Lynn said it's become increasingly difficult for parents to guard and monitor what children are exposed to through online games and social media. Children as young as 11 are exposed to pornography online, he said. Through the internet, he said, 'sexual boundaries get blurred.' 'When someone finds them on the internet and talks to them about sending a naked picture or receiving a naked picture, now, all those boundaries are blurred, and most parents don't have the tools to even govern that, because we don't have any laws that govern that,' Lynn said. Lady Tee Thompson, who works with several organizations to combat human trafficking, said Kentucky is a 'fertile ground' for 'predators to weaponize shame and isolation.' The 'insidious' crime, she said, is 'a gateway to human trafficking.' 'When an individual is coerced into providing explicit images, videos or acts under threats of exposure, harm or blackmail and a party profits in the form of money, drugs or something else of value, often beginning online, it traps victims into cycles of fear, forging compliance and enabling traffickers to escalate controls, leading to in-person exploitation and trafficking,' Thompson said. Advocates said there has recently been a ' steep climb' in 14-17-year-old boys targeted in this manner, though anyone can become a victim. Perpetrators often pose as a romantic interest, luring in boys who think they're speaking to girls their age. Shannon Moody, the chief policy and strategy officer at Kentucky Youth Advocates, said the extortion leaves 'many children feeling ashamed and too scared to seek any help.' More than half of minors find online grooming common, according to KYA data, 'really highlighting the widespread nature of how prevalent this is,' Moody said. This is 'not a theoretical issue at all,' Thompson said. 'This is a crisis that is not just devastating,' she said. 'It is preventable, and yet we are not moving fast enough. We are allowing the predators to outpace our protection.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
