Marijuana Moment
Advocates for convenience stores are celebrating a recently enacted delay in the effective date of a federal ban on hemp THC products, saying the move provides an opportunity to create regulations as an alternative to prohibition.
Convenience stores, they say, are an ideal place to continue to sell hemp products under any new rules that are enacted
“The convenience retail channel, with its well-established age verification procedures, is suited to selling hemp products to adults legally and responsibly,” Jon Taets, director of government relations for NACS, formerly the National Association of Convenience Stores, said.
“We look forward to working with Congress on a solution that not only protects children in our communities but also supports small businesses,” he said.
The group has “actively encouraged Congress to delay the hemp ban,” NACS said. “Doing so provides more time to develop a regulatory framework that allows for legal, safe sales of products containing hemp-derived THC to adults.”
“These products are an important category for convenience stores, which have experienced significant demand for THC beverages and other products from adult customers,” the organization said. “For c-store operators, the hemp-derived THC category could offer significant sales and growth opportunities, particularly in states that have passed legislation to regulate these products.”
Hemp derivatives with less than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC on a dry-weight basis were federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill that Trump signed during his first term in office. But late last year, the president signed new legislation containing provisions that redefined hemp to make it so only products with 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container would remain legal after November 12.
Now, however, under provisions included in a funding bill Trump signed last week, the effective date of the ban for most products is being pushed back to December 11 to give lawmakers more time to craft regulations for hemp derivatives.
There is a carve-out, however, to allow the recriminalization on November 12 of synthetic cannabinoids “that are not capable of being naturally produced by a Cannabis sativa L. plant.”
Melissa VonderHaar, the vide president of commercial strategy for iSee Store Innovations and chair of the C-Store Cannabis Board for CSP, said that the delay in the ban is “very important” but is “only step 1.”
Convenience Store Industry Says Congress Should Regulate Hemp THC Products Instead Of Banning Them
