Update 5/11/22
We’re pleased to announce that this new version of the bill, with slight technical amendments, was overwhelmingly passed by the Colorado House and Senate during the final day of the session. Here’s the final bill. In summary, this legislation will:
- Create a task force of hemp and marijuana industry representatives and government officials to intentionally study the topic of intoxicating compounds and propose legislative and rule recommendations. The task force will have broad representation from regulators, manufacturers, refiners, retailers, labs, consumer nonprofit organizations, and adult-use patients, and is intended to ensure that all viewpoints are captured and incorporated in whatever recommendations develop.
- Provide immediate authority to the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment to develop regulations to prohibit the sale of chemically-converted and synthetically-derived intoxicating THC isomers.
- Provide immediate authority—and nearly $600,000 in funding—to the Colorado Attorney General to crack down on deceptive trade practices and other consumer protection issues regarding hemp products.
The legislation has been sent to Governor Jared Polis, who is expected to sign it shortly. We are grateful to the Governor, his staff, legislative leaders, and especially YOU, for your swift take action. They listened to the hemp industry’s concerns and helped transform a flawed bill into one that will address our mutual concerns.
UPDATE 5/3/22:
In policy, if everyone is only a little unhappy, you probably are in a good place. We worked hard with the hemp industry, stakeholders, lobbyists as well as President Fenberg to come to consensus language on SB205 on 5/2/22.
You are the HERO: Your rapid take action allowed this committee to see that what they were being told by the Big Marijuana Lobby, (we agree with their 15-page bill that would secretly kill hemp in CO) was… in fact – a lie. The committee, and particularly President Fenberg took control of the circus along with Mark Ferrandino, Executive Director at the Colorado Department of Revenue to get to a place most people could live with and do the three things that we felt were most important:
- Protect access to the products that our families have grown to rely on for the last decade.
- Allow the regulatory body to have the clarity to regulate the bad actors masquerading their intoxicating, and chemically synthesized (Delta 8 and Delta 10 THC) products as hemp.
- Create a Task Force so that Colorado can develop more regulatory structures around hemp with all the stakeholders at the table.
4/29/22
Do you or a loved one rely on hemp products everyday? This week’s blog is all about the Colorado Bill: SB 22-205 and what you can do to help us take action now! The products you rely on are in jeopardy. With your voice, effort and support, we can let our Colorado representatives know that we will not stand for this.
What is the name of the bill and where can I read about it online?
SB22-205
Intoxicating Hemp And Tetrahydrocannabinol Products: Concerning the regulation of cannabis-related products that may potentially cause a person to become intoxicated when used. SESSION: 2022 Regular Session
Read it here: https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb22-205
Who does this affect?
- Hemp companies that operate in Colorado and ship nationwide.
- Consumers who buy these hemp products.
What does the bill do? Why is it a problem?
- Non-intoxicating hemp extract tinctures would be limited to 20 mg of THC per bottle, with criminal penalties and/or civil rights of action for violations. This would virtually wipe out full spectrum hemp tincture commerce.
- The bill would require Colorado CBD manufacturers to immediately destroy much of their stock of non-intoxicating full-spectrum products that exceed the 20 mg THC package cap (including tinctures, caplets, gummies, etc.), prohibiting them from selling these products to states where they are legal, and potentially imposing criminal and civil penalties on their storage and distribution.
- In determining whether future cannabinoid products are intoxicating, the law would not require a scientific analysis and could lead to improperly classifying some novel non-intoxicating compounds as adult-use cannabis. For example, CBN that naturally occurs in hemp products.
- The legislation does not provide a certain path to protect the retail sale of CBN products that are demonstrably non-intoxicating. Protections for non-intoxicating products are limited to CBD, CBG, and CBC (and acids), stifling all innovation.
- There would be no grace period whereby retailers could sell non-intoxicating products that are packaged legally as of today but would fall outside the new limits. There are also no safe harbors for manufacturers handling in-process or bulk ingredients. This would require small businesses to immediately destroy intoxicating products that complied with the rules when they were manufactured or face possible criminal penalties.
What is happening right now?
Fortunately, we were able to work with the Hemp Industry to get new language in and we need to shout loud and clear to support the Hemp Industry amendment.
The new amended language would:
- Allow the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) in conjunction with the Attorney General’s Office be empowered with the authority to immediately enforce against both retail and online sales of hemp products that contain substantially more than 2.0 mg of delta-9 THC per serving, as well as other products that are likely to cause intoxication or marketed as intoxicating, such as delta-8 and delta- 10 THC.
- Will also require CDPHE and the Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED) within the Department of Revenue (DOR) to work together on a collaborative, stakeholder-driven rulemaking process that utilizes science-based standards to determine which hemp products should be designated as intoxicating.
What is the bottom line?
Intoxicating hemp products for retail sale in Colorado are increasingly becoming an issue and the Colorado Hemp Industry as a whole is united behind addressing this problem. However, Senate Bill 205 was hastily drafted with input only from the Marijuana industry and out of state interests who seek to disadvantage hemp manufacturing in the state of Colorado and would cause irreparable economic damage to thousands in our state whether it is from consumers who rely on affordable access to full spectrum hemp products or manufacturers who provide over a thousand jobs in rural communities. This bill is overreaching and will prevent you and I from getting the hemp products you have trusted for the last 10 years.
If you would like to talk to a care specialist about this please call 719-347-5400 ext 1 or email info@realmofcaring.org
