Drinks Retailers Bullish On Hemp THC Category

The battle over how to regulate hemp-derived THC products is heating up, with the alcohol retail trade group American Beverage Licensees (ABL) proposing to bring intoxicating hemp products further into the three-tier system, amid wider Congressional scrutiny of the fast-growing category. Earlier this month, the ABL issued a policy memo calling for regulation on the intoxicating hemp industry, including restricting sales to businesses licensed to sell alcohol, a national standard for testing hemp-derived products, and new taxation standards.

The ABL’s memo comes as bipartisan members of Congress consider the state of hemp-derived products in the U.S. At a recent hearing of the House Committee on Government and Oversight, Democrats and Republicans challenged the FDA to regulate (or ban) the industry. From the left, Democrats asserted that the FDA is understaffed due to President Trump’s slashing of the government workforce. From the right, members of Congress like Texas representative Pete Sessions criticized the hemp-derived industry for exploiting the Farm Bill loophole to sell under-regulated intoxicating products.

But House Democrats, Republicans, and the hemp-derived industry are all in agreement that regulation is necessary. At the same hearing, the U.S. Hemp Roundtable’s general counsel Jonathan Miller repeated the industry’s call for federal regulations to ensure stability and a level playing field.

Although the ABL’s proposal would not address all of the complaints aired at the hearing—namely those from members of Congress who would prefer to simply ban the category—it would provide a framework for better age-restricting of intoxicating hemp products. The retail coalition notes that the on- and off-premise have extensive experience with keeping alcohol out of the hands of minors. In addition, the group calls for “clear labeling standards, and restrictions on advertising and marketing to ensure responsible consumption.” While the ABL doesn’t take a firm stance on limiting the potency of hemp-derived products, the policy memo does not rule out potency limits.

“States are increasingly compelled to develop comprehensive state regulatory frameworks for intoxicating THC products,” said John Bodnovich, ABL’s executive director. “Given their considerable experience with beverage alcohol regulation, beverage alcohol retailers are best positioned to not only sell these products, but also to provide practical advice to states on how to implement a robust regulatory model.”—Shane English

Tagged : American Beverage Licensees, cannabis, U.S. Hemp Roundtable

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