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Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Florida hemp industry wins another reprieve from regulations this year
A Tallahassee hemp store. (Photo by Mitch Perry/ Florida Phoenix) A year ago, members of Florida's hemp industry were lobbying Gov. Ron DeSantis to veto a bill regulating hemp-derived THC products that many claimed if signed into law would be a devastating blow to their livelihoods. Their mission was accomplished when he did in fact veto the proposal last June. That won't be required this year; the Legislature failed to pass anything on hemp before unofficially ending the legislative session on Friday night (they are expected to return to Tallahassee later this month to deal exclusively with budget-related matters). State Sen. Colleen Burton via Florida Senate Rep. Michelle Salzman via Florida House The central problem appeared to be the substantive differences between the Senate bill sponsored by Polk County Republican Colleen Burton (SB 438) and the House version (HB 7027) sponsored by Panhandle Republican Michelle Salzman. The two measures would have capped the potency of hemp-derived THC products, placed advertising restrictions, and required hemp to be tested by a certified medical cannabis laboratory. But there were some big differences: The Senate bill (like its 2024 version) called for the outright ban of synthetic cannabinoids like Delta-8 and said that the newly popular hemp-infused drinks could only be sold through a retailer holding a liquor license. Salzman's bill in the House did not ban Delta-8. Neither did it call for retailers to have a liquor license, but it did include a 15% excise tax on all hemp purchases. Jonathan Miller, general counsel for the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, said the House bill was better for his industry than the Senate's version, and said he appreciated the work that Rep. Salzman devoted to trying to find the right balance. 'In its final form, we said that it wasn't perfect, but it was a significant improvement on the Senate bill and so in the end nothing passing was better than the Senate bill passing,' Miller said. He's 'hopeful,' he said, that between now and next year's legislative session 'people will realize that the House version is the model to start working from and hopefully produce something that really both protects farmers and consumers at the same time.' 'Honestly afraid' Carlos Hermida, who owns two hemp shops in the Tampa Bay area, says the Senate's ban on synthetic cannibinoids like Delta-8 and Delta-10 would have eliminated most hemp products from his establishments. 'I was honestly afraid that we would have to close down,' he said last week when it became evident there would be no bill this year. 'Of course it will be good for my bottom line. I can still sell drinks, I can sell the products that my customers need, and I can still advertise.' A new element in this discussion from a year ago has been the emergence of hemp-derived THC beverages being sold throughout the state. Burton's proposal would have required sales only at locations licensed to sell alcoholic beverages. Both bills limited the amount of THC in such drinks (5 milligrams per container in the Senate, 10 milligrams per container in the House), while the House bill would have banned consumption of such drinks on the retailer's premises. Those restrictions might work for establishments like ABC Fine Wine & Spirits, a major liquor retail chain, said Michael Smith, co-owner of Herban Flow in St. Petersburg. But it wouldn't work for his two stores, which feature a large selection of THC-infused drinks. 'With [Florida] being such a tourism/hospitality state, these bars are trying to develop server menus and other type of non-alcoholic menus for people to partake and join out with their friends, and the House bill would have taken away on-site consumption completely,' he said. 'Losing that ability to go out there and sell at festivals and farmers markets, that would have significantly hurt us.' During the final committee stop in the House, Rep. Salzman said she was resolute in keeping that provision in her bill, saying that there are no mechanisms to test for intoxication from those THC-infused drinks. 'This stuff has got to be regulated' With Congress largely silent on the issue, it has been up to the states to regulate hemp-derived THC products since the U.S. Farm Bill legalized hemp in 2018. While roughly half the states in the nation have placed some regulations on such products (and some, such as Idaho, have banned the product outright), Florida continues to struggle with such measures. That's a problem, says Ellen Snelling, of the Hillsborough County Anti-Drug Alliance. 'I'm extremely disappointed,' says said, noting that House Speaker Daniel Perez had convened a special workgroup that met for three days during the first week of the session to learn more about the hemp business from those in the industry. 'I thought, 'This is great. This is going to work this year,'' she recounted. Then Snelling saw the disparate House and Senate bill versions posted. 'As time went on, it just seemed like they weren't going to come to a consensus and be able to get it done. But both bills had some positive things in it, and I just wish there was some way that they have gotten together and gotten a bill passed, because it's past time, because this stuff has got to be regulated.' Florida is not the only state that failed to come up with regulations on hemp-derived THC products this year. In Georgia last month, a bill addressing concerns about high THC dosages passed in the state Senate but stalled in the House, as well. 'It's really a game of whack-a-mole,' said U.S. Hemp Roundtable's Miller. 'Over the course of legislative sessions, we've seen things pop up and we try to hammer them down, and sometimes we miss but in general I think the movement is towards robust regulation as opposed to bans. I think with this new hemp beverage industry there's a lot more excitement about that, and so I think you're going to see more Legislatures really trying to come up with solutions that provide for strong access to consumers while ensuring protection of the products.' It should be noted that both Senate and House bills passed unanimously in all of the committees in which they were heard, and the full Senate voted unanimously in support of that bill when it came to the floor last month. The House version never came to the floor of that chamber. 'We will continue to debate how hemp affects public health and our economy,' Salzman told the Phoenix in an emailed comment last week. 'There are legal gaps we need to address in the future and I look forward to working with my colleagues to ensure these products are safe and protect consumers, while still allowing Florida farmers to thrive.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Florida House panel OKs tax on all hemp-derived THC products
Hemp being grown indoors for flower to produce CBD oil. (Florida A&M University hemp pilot project report to Florida Senate Agriculture Committee) All hemp-derived THC products would be taxed at 15% under a proposal passed in a Florida House committee on Wednesday. The measure is one of two regarding regulation of hemp-derived THC products sponsored by Panhandle Republican Michelle Salzman that were approved unanimously in the House Budget Committee. The main bill (HB 7027) is a companion to a Senate bill (SB 438) that has already passed unanimously in that chamber, although they do contain significant differences. Among them is that Salzman's bill would not ban Delta-8, the hemp-derived THC product that has grown in popularity since hemp was legalized in the United States through the 2018 U.S. farm bill. Like its Senate companion, the House bill limits the amount of Delta-9 hemp-derived products such as beverages and gummies. It says edibles must contain no more than 2 milligrams; be individually wrapped; and be sold in containers with no more than 20 edibles. That raised objections from Patrick Shatzer of Sunmed/Your CBD Store, who says his company is the largest CBD brick-and-mortar business in the country with 260 locations nationwide and 42 in Florida. 'The size of the gummies — limited to 2 grams — that's just a tiny little pinkie size wide,' he said to the committee. 'That's not the industry standard. The industry standard is anywhere from 5 to 8 grams.' Shatzer also objected to the provision limiting 20 servings per container, saying the average dietary supplements permit 30 gummies in a container. And he raised objections to a prohibition on selling, delivering, bartering, giving, or furnishing hemp consumables that total more than 100 milligrams of THC to a person in a 24-hour period, saying it would be unenforceable. Rep. Salzman replied that, while she is open to changing some of those limits, she is holding firm on limiting personal consumption of such products to 100 milligrams of THC a day. 'If somebody know that they can't buy more than 100 milligrams in that day, it's going to give them a warning subconsciously, 'Maybe I shouldn't have more than 100 milligrams of this stuff in a day,'' she said. 'And if you want more than 100 milligrams of this stuff a day, you probably need to get a medical cannabis card.' Regarding the proposed 15% excise tax on hemp products, Jodi James of the Florida Cannabis Action Network said that not all hemp products are intoxicating, and that those that aren't should not be taxed at all. 'In the state of Florida, we don't tax vitamins, we don't tax supplements,' she said. Salzman said following the meeting that she will exempt those products before the bill's final hearing before House Commerce Committee next week. 'That's a no-brainer,' she said. 'The purpose of this is to give it a sin-tax, and if you're not using it for sin, then yes.' The measure says that the first $6 million of revenue collected from the tax would go into a General Inspection Trust fund for enforcement and testing of hemp-derived products. The rest would go into the state's main account, the General Revenue Fund. Atlhough the House and Senate bills differ in some respects, one similarity that members of the committee voiced concerns about was a requirement that hemp-containing beverages be sold only through shops licensed to sell alcoholic beverages. 'I don't think that we should be picking winners and losers here,' said Naples Republican Rep. Lauren Melo. 'I, too, would like to see convenience stores added back in.' 'I, too, think it should be treated like alcohol,' added Broward County Democratic Rep. Christine Hunschofsky. 'And therefore should be available in the same way that alcohol is.' Southeast Florida Republican Rep. Toby Overdorf said he would like to see more work regarding synthetics, which are not listed in the House measure. Much is the same in the House and Senate bills; both would prohibit packaging that might be attractive to children and require the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs to certify any hemp-testing laboratory in Florida or any other state. The House bill prohibits THC products from being sold, given, bartered, furnished, or delivered to consumers at festivals, fairs, trade shows, farmers' markets, expositions, or pop-up retail establishments. And it would ban anyone from ingesting them within 1,000 feet of a public or private elementary, middle, or secondary school between the hours of 6 a.m. and midnight. The bill will move to the Commerce Committee next week, its likely final stop before reaching the floor. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Hawaii lawmakers advance bills banning landfills over aquifers
Opponents to plans by Mayor Rick Blangiardi's administration to site the city's next solid-waste landfill on active pineapple fields above Central Oahu's freshwater aquifer claimed a tentative victory this week. Two state-level measures that seek to prevent landfills from being placed above potable groundwater sources or in agricultural districts anywhere in Hawaii respectively passed their third of three readings at the state Legislature on Tuesday. House Bill 969 would prohibit the construction, modification or expansion of any waste or disposal facility on land that is above a significant aquifer as determined by the state Department of Health. Senate Bill 438 would prohibit landfills in an agricultural district that has 'class A soils, ' meaning highly productive, prime agricultural lands. This measure also would narrow the prohibition on constructing, modifying or expanding dump sites within a half-mile buffer zone of residential, school or hospitality property lines to apply specifically to landfills or related facilities. In addition, SB 438 would prohibit the construction, modification or expansion of a landfill unit, or any component of a landfill unit, inland of an underground injection control line in a county with a population greater than 500, 000 people, with certain exemptions. Currently, both bills have different drafts or versions attached. Don 't miss out on what 's happening ! Stay in touch with breaking news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It 's FREE ! Email 28141 Sign Up By clicking to sign up, you agree to Star-Advertiser 's and Google 's and. This form is protected by reCAPTCHA. Due to this situation, each measure likely will go through what's known as the conference process—where different drafts of the respective bills eventually become one version to allow for a final legislative vote. Legislation needs to be out of the conference process by April 25, Legislature staff indicate. The 2025 legislative session adjourns May 2. If both bills survive, Gov. Josh Green has the option to veto the measures by June 24. The governor also could sign them into law or let the bills automatically become laws without his signature. The latter two actions must occur by July 9, staff note. Via email, the governor's office declined to comment on any future vote on these landfill measures 'until either bill is in final form and is sent to his desk.' Although not as far along as SB 438 and HB 969, six other measures related to the siting of solid-waste facilities in Hawaii continue to wind their way through various committees at the state Capitol. The latest state-level actions are due to a Wahiawa-area site—west of Kamehameha Highway and north of Paalaa Uka Pupu kea Road—where the city proposed a new dump on agricultural land currently owned by Dole Food Co. Hawaii. Announced in December, the city says it hopes to negotiate a purchase of about 150 acres—the amount of land needed for a solid-waste landfill—out of what it described as an approximately 2, 360-acre parcel now owned by Dole. Dole has stated its opposition to the city having a landfill on its active farming property. And that site, according to the Board of Water Supply, is also about 800 feet above Central Oahu's prime groundwater source. BWS objected to the city siting a landfill within its so-called 'no-pass zone, ' an area that covers the interior of the island where Oahu's potable water aquifer is located. The planned Wahiawa landfill site is one of six sites—on the North Shore and in Central Oahu—BWS rejected in 2022 due to their proximity to the island's aquifer. But the city's actions came as it faced a state-imposed Dec. 31, 2024, deadline to find an alternate dump site, ahead of the planned closure of the over-35-year-old Waimanalo Gulch Sanitary Landfill in Kapolei, in accordance with a 2019 decision and order by the state Land Use Commission. That West Oahu dump is set to close in 2028, though the landfill will not reach full capacity until 2032, the city said. The city's move to place a landfill in Central Oahu eventually sparked a backlash from lawmakers. Key sponsors of the state-level bills—including state Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz (D, Mililani-Wahiawa-Whitmore Village ), who co-introduced SB 438—could not be immediately reached for comment. But introducers of HB 969—House Majority Leader Sean Quinlan and state Rep. Amy Perruso—did appear at a news conference earlier this year urging passage of legislation against potentially toxic landfill sites on Oahu. In the Capitol's rotunda Jan. 28, Quinlan, who represents House District 47, which includes Waialua, Haleiwa, Kawailoa Beach and nearby North Shore communities, spoke against contamination like toxic heavy metals or man-made PFAS, 'forever chemicals ' that do not break down in the environment, which might leach out of a landfill over time. He alluded to contaminated rainwater, also known as leachate, that could percolate downhill from the planned Wahiawa landfill site and into groundwater sources and water wells servicing his legislative district. 'Let's be really honest about where we are. The Navy poisoned the water on the south side of this island, ' said Quinlan. 'Are we now going to allow a landfill to poison the water on the north side of this island ?' 'What is the future of human habitation on this island ? Why do we keep rolling the dice with our freshwater drinking supply ? I understand that the city is in an impossible situation, but that doesn't mean that it's justifiable or right to propose siting a landfill above an aquifer, ' he added. Meanwhile, Honolulu City Council Vice Chair Matt Weyer—whose District 2 includes Wahiawa—was pleased with the third-reading passage of the state bills. 'I appreciate the work of our colleagues in the state Legislature for taking decisive action to protect our drinking water resources by advancing SB 438 and HB 969, ' he told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser via email. 'If these measures are signed into law, the city administration's proposed site for a new landfill near Wahiawa would likely be removed from consideration.' Weyer also highlighted his own legislative work at the Council level, which includes a fiscal year 2026 budget amendment he introduced March 31. 'This amendment ensures that no funds shall be used to acquire land, plan, or design a landfill facility above a significant aquifer. The FY26 budget bills are scheduled for their second reading on April 16, ' he added. Roger Babcock, city environmental services director, reacted to news that state lawmakers are moving to ban landfills built over island aquifers. 'Those two bills are still alive, and something is going to pass, ' he told the Star-Advertiser by phone. 'And we fully expect that a bill will pass that will eliminate the possibility of the site that we identified in Central Oahu, northwest of Wahiawa.' He added, 'It would also eliminate all of the other sites that were previously evaluated by our Landfill Advisory Committee.' 'There were six sites ; they were all in Central Oahu on agricultural lands and within the Board of Water Supply's 'no-pass zone, '' he said. 'So those would be eliminated, and that was our Plan A.' He said Plan B proposes an amendment or modification of Act 73—a 2020 law that places restrictions on locating waste-disposal facilities, particularly those close to conservation lands or half-mile 'buffer zones, ' near residential areas, schools or hospitals, as well as near airports or tsunami inundation zones. 'So Plan B is what we would be asking the Legislature to consider … to reduce the buffer zone between a landfill and a residential property … schools and hospitals, ' he said. 'It also excludes conservation lands.' Per an amendment, he noted the half-mile buffer would be reduced to a quarter-mile. 'So if it's not reduced, then there are no other sites outside of the 'no-pass zone, '' he said. Although the city hoped the state Legislature would take steps to amend Act 73 this session, Babcock confirmed that action did not occur. He said, however, the city's effort to change Act 73 could recur. 'The question would be whether we would try and pursue it next legislative session, ' he said. 'It's too late for this legislative session, so it could be part of the (2026 ) session.' Meantime, Plan C would see the city stay at Wai manalo Gulch landfill. 'And we already know from the (state ) Land Use Commission that gives us the permit for that site—the special-use permit—that unless there are no other options, they wouldn't consider it, ' he added. 'So we wouldn't be able to do that until we really have no other option. And if we have no other option, then that is what we would have to do ; we've identified that as sort of the final plan.' He said this sequential plan is 'necessary because you can't skip any of those steps.' Still, he said the LUC told the city it must 'get out ' of Waimanalo Gulch. 'So that is in our permit, ' he added. 'It says that we will be out of there, and it will be closed and no longer accept waste in 2028.' In spite of that mandate, the city could ask for an extension on the permit. 'And our intention is, if at all possible, that's what we would do, ' he claimed. 'We need to exhaust all other options to the greatest extent possible before we would consider extending that site.' 'And that would be the last-ditch effort to do that, ' Babcock concluded.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Bill that will regulate the hemp industry passes unanimously in Florida Senate
(Photo by) For the second year in a row, the Florida Senate has approved new regulations on hemp-derived THC products in Florida, although this time the proposal includes limitations on the industry's hottest new product, THC-infused beverages. Polk County Republican Sen. Colleen Burton has led the charge in attempting to place some restrictions on these intoxicating products, which have emerged since the state legalized hemp in 2019. Since then, some states have banned all such products, while others have heavily regulated them. Burton said that people have asked her why is she trying to regulate an industry that has been established in Florida for years. She said hemp-derived THC products are 'causing harm to Floridians.' 'We have retailers in the state of Florida that are selling products that are intoxicating,' she said. 'They are selling products that are putting adults and children in the hospital. And, sadly, they are selling products that are causing the deaths of Floridians.' She alluded to a Jacksonville television station's website, which reported this week on a Georgia woman who believes her 25-year-old son's death from heart disease was caused by ingesting Delta-8 gummies. 'That young man did not know that what he was ingesting was going to hurt him,' Burton said. The bill (SB 438) bans all Delta-8 products and limits the amount of Delta-9 hemp-derived products to no more than five milligrams per serving or 50 milligrams per container. It limits the amount of THC in hemp-infused drinks to five milligrams per container. Such drinks could only be sold through a retailer holding a liquor license. It requires that each final batch of hemp extract must be tested in a certified marijuana testing laboratory before it may be sold in the state, with results verified and signed by two laboratory employees. The lab would determine whether the product meets the definition of hemp and hemp extract. During a combined Florida House workgroup formed to study the hemp industry earlier in the session, the owner of a Lakeland testing lab that contracted with the Florida Department of Agriculture to test cannabis and hemp products appeared. He testified that his lab tested 50 out of 53 flower hemp samples from different smoke/hemp shops across the state that were over the legal 0.3% Delta 9 THC limit, and found contaminants in these products. 'These are very intoxicating products,' said Southeast Florida Republican Sen. Gayle Harrell. 'They're addicting products at the end of the day. And people need to know that. … We need to make sure that people know what they're buying. And we have seen so many fly-by-night places selling hemp — 'safe hemp' — and the THC levels are higher than the medical marijuana that you can get in a dispensary.' The bill prohibits businesses and food establishments permitted to sell hemp products from advertising 'in a manner' visible to the public from any street, sidewalk, park, or other public place. Florida law already bans marketing THC-hemp in a way that might attract children. The bill expands that definition to include containers displaying toys or other features that target children and products manufactured in a form or packaged in a container that bears any 'reasonable remembrance to a branded food product in a way that the product could mistaken for the branded food product, especially by children.' And it says that all such products must be placed out of the reach of customers, either in a controlled area accessible only to employees or in a locked display case, excluding hemp-infused beverages. A similar bill passed unanimously in the Florida Senate a year ago, but Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed it following heavy lobbying from the hemp industry. Grateful for the reprieve, several hemp entrepreneurs helped fund DeSantis' campaign to bring down Amendment 3, the proposed constitutional amendment that would have legalized the recreational use of cannabis for adults 21 and over. Jacksonville Democrat Tracie Davis, who co-sponsored the bill, acknowledged in her closing statement that the bill wasn't significantly different than last year's version. 'This was a bill that was vetoed,' she said. 'There's not that much that's different from last year's bill that was vetoed.' The vote in favor was unanimous. The House version (HB 7027) is now sponsored by Panhandle Republican Rep. Michelle Salzman. It has two more committees to go through before reaching the floor of that chamber. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Florida Government targeting hemp sales in convenience stores
Convenience stores and gas stations would be prohibited from selling consumable hemp products, such as vapes, gummies or THC-infused beverages, under a proposal unanimously approved Tuesday by a House panel. House Housing, Agriculture and Tourism Chairwoman Michelle Salzman, R-Pensacola, told her subcommittee that the biggest goal of the bill (PCB HAT 25-01) is 'public safety.' Key parts of the bill would create licensing requirements to sell consumable hemp products, impose restrictions on packaging and limit product potency. A similar Senate proposal (SB 438) also would set up new regulations for consumable hemp products. The Senate plan would allow THC-infused beverages to be sold at places that have liquor licenses and require the drinks to be distributed by beer and alcohol wholesalers. Both the House and Senate plans would cap the amount of euphoria-inducing THC in other consumable products at 0.3 percent. The measure approved Tuesday is rooted in recommendations and testimony from a House workgroup overseen by Salzman, who said she was open to 'moving the needle' on the ban on convenience-store sales but that the prohibition was intentional. 'We know that that's where kids go in after school. … Our heels aren't dug in really hard on that, but we do need to be really cognizant of the steps we take forward from where we begin,' Salzman said. Lawmakers last year passed a measure seeking to impose regulations on consumable hemp products, but Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed the proposal after vehement opposition from hemp manufacturers and retailers. Last year's bill did not address THC-infused beverages, which are intoxicating and have mushroomed in popularity in recent years. The House proposal would cap THC in beverages to 5 mg per six ounces and restrict containers to 12 ounces. The House panel also unanimously approved a separate bill (PCB HAT 25-02) that would impose excise taxes on consumable hemp products. The proposed tax rate for THC beverages would be equivalent to excise taxes on beer and wine, and the proposed tax rate for other consumable hemp products would be similar to those imposed on cigarettes. Salzman said it was 'unfair' that other intoxicating products are taxed but that hemp-based products are not. The full Senate could vote on its version of the bill as early as Thursday. 'I am extremely proud of the bill we have in front of us, but I am certain you will see it change as we move through,' Salzman said. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
