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Behind The Lines
Cannabis Interests Lobbying the Hemp Industry in D . C .
by Chris Hope , contributing writer
Across the country , the cannabis and hemp industries are battling it out in state legislatures . In states where cannabis is legal , the cannabis industry has fought hard to create a legal marketplace and wants to keep its market safe from perceived threats . Recently , the biggest threat has come from Delta-8 THC ; a cannabinoid made federally legal by the 2018 Farm Bill , which legalized hemp . Delta-8 THC is the less impairing cousin to Delta-9 THC .
Unlike Delta-9 , which ( in most states ) can only be sold in a licensed dispensary , Delta-8 is being sold across the country in gas stations , smoke shops , and even coffee shops and bakeries . For the most part , there are no regulations whatsoever on the sale of hemp products , such as Delta-8 , which is in stark contrast to the heavily regulated and heavily taxed cannabis industry . In states with established legal cannabis industries , such as Colorado and Oregon , the response was swift and final : Delta-8 was banned outright .
Other recreational cannabis states , such as California and New York , put limitations in place that essentially limit Delta-8 sales to licensed dispensaries . The battle over market share is being played out in state houses across the country , with lobbyists working hard for both the entrenched cannabis industry and the emerging hemp industry . While this fight has gotten contentious in many states , on a national level , such industries are trying to find some middle ground .
Recently , members of the National Cannabis Industry Association ( NCIA ) made their way to Washington , D . C . for NCIA ’ s annual Lobby Days . While the bulk of the NCIA membership met with legislators and staffers to discuss the SAFE Banking Act , the Hemp and Manufacturing Committees focused on the House and Senate Agricultural Committees responsible for drafting the 2023 Farm Bill . The Hemp Committee proposed changes to the Farm Bill that would make hemp safer without banning cannabinoids .
James Granger , the Manufacturing Committee Co-Chair and Chief Political Officer of Cliintel Capital Management Group , explained , “ These are really the same plant , so it ’ s counterproductive to be fighting against ourselves . The goal was to provide common sense regulations that all parties can agree to .”
Instead of focusing on who can or cannot sell a given product , the Hemp Committee promoted regulations to ensure that all hemp products are safe , such as no Delta-8 sold to anyone under 21 and testing and labeling requirements for ingestible products that mirror the cannabis industry .
“ A few of the staffers were kind of surprised by the stance we were taking ,” said Hemp Committee member Erik Carlson . “ They had already met with several other representatives from big cannabis companies and were expecting anyone from the cannabis industry to be automatically opposed to everything related to Delta-8 .”
The Hemp Committee chose to take a more nuanced view , arguing for regulations that will meet safety concerns and provide legitimacy to an emerging industry . The NCIA chose to take actions that would not lead to an outright ban of Delta-8 as that could impede important research into novel cannabinoids that are just now being discovered . “ The last thing that we want to do is to stop the scientists from finding that next big medical cure ,” said Granger .
While cannabis and hemp continue to duke it out over market share at the state level , the lobbying in D . C . is focused on finding peace and the middle ground . Every now and again , it ’ s nice to see the hemp and cannabis industries come together so that science can thrive .
Chris Hope has two decades of experience in the cannabis and hemp industries . He was born and raised in California by Missourian parents . He was front row in developing California ’ s regulated cannabis market . Hope co-founded Angeles Emeralds , a cannabis advocacy and lobby group for Los Angeles County . He ’ s presently the Chair of the Hemp Committee for the NCIA , as well as a member of its Sustainability Council and Novel , Synthetic , and Minor Cannabinoid Collaboration . In 2018 , Hope began working in the Missouri cannabis and hemp industries . He is presently developing an industrial hemp processing facility in the Missouri bootheel area .