WSWA Urges TTB Administration Of Cannabis Industry
August 29, 2023The Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA) has weighed in again on cannabis legalization with a letter to Congress. WSWA has spoken out with increasing intensity in recent years in support of cannabis legalization and has offered its expertise in the regulation of beverage alcohol as a model for a federal cannabis regulatory structure. In a letter sent to committees in both the House and Senate, WSWA responded to a variety of questions, providing in-depth answers about the harms caused by the current lack of regulations and what effective oversight on the federal level might look like.
In particular, the letter was emphatic that the TTB should be the agency in charge of administering the industry. This was in contrast to the questions posed by Congress, which assumed FDA authority. “The final proposed legislation should be clear—TTB has primary authority over permitting and product and label approval and should rely on scientific expertise of FDA and other agencies in determining product safety of intoxicating hemp products, similar to the division of labor among TTB and FDA in regulating the U.S. alcohol marketplace,” the letter reads.
“With decades of experience regulating beverage alcohol products, TTB is uniquely qualified to assume oversight of intoxicating hemp products,” WSWA continues. “Year after year, TTB acts as one of the most efficient tax collecting entities in the federal government and has a strong record of managing the permitting and enforcement provisions of federal law. Under TTB’s watch, the industry has had an unparalleled safety record, while also overseeing remarkable growth in both the number of products and industry members in the marketplace.”—Danny Sullivan
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