Across Missouri, alcohol distributors, bars, and liquor stores have seen increased revenue from legal THC-laden products, some of which are produced within the state. But that’s all about to come to a screeching halt thanks to new legislation on the books.
On August 1st, Missouri Governor Mike Parson signed an executive order effectively banning psychoactive hemp derivatives. These include all THC-laden products that fall outside of the state’s regulations for recreational and medicinal marijuana purchased from a licensed dispensary.
Specifically, businesses with a liquor license and those that sell food products will face penalties for selling any intoxicating hemp products like THC beverages, edibles, etc. Also banned will be the manufacturing of any THC products in Missouri that are not already licensed by the state for legal marijuana production.
The new executive order will not criminalize people for taking psychoactive THC products, but instead will make it a crime for state-regulated retailers of food and alcohol to sell them.
Missouri residents can still purchase federally legal THC products online with no problems, as long as the manufacturer is out of state.
Governor Parson asserted earlier this month in a press conference that the purpose of the order is to get THC products that look like typical children’s candies off the legal market, so that kids won’t accidentally ingest them. The point was further driven home by Department of Health & Senior Services Director Paula F. Nickelson:
“Numerous Missourians have been adversely affected by consuming foods laced with these products. Disturbingly, children in Missouri and across the nation have been hospitalized after ingesting these substances, and this is unacceptable.”
The new ban officially goes into effect on September 1st. Accordingly, THC drinks and edibles all over Missouri are being put on sale, as third-party merchants have to get rid of them before next month.
This will undoubtedly deliver a substantial financial blow to thousands of retailers that sell these THC products as well as producers headquartered in Missouri.
Producers and third-party vendors won’t be able to simply offload these products onto dispensary shelves, either; current regulations require that Missouri dispensaries exclusively sell marijuana products from hemp cultivated and processed within the state.
Until the emergency rules are released to provide more details about the restrictions, penalties, and enforcement of the executive order, we don’t know exactly how the legal status of other cannabinoid products may be affected.
According to the government website, Missouri considers non-psychoactive cannabinoids to include, specifically, CBD, CBN, CBG, CBDa, CBGa, CBDV, CBDVa, CBGV, CBGVa, CBNa, CBC, and CBCa.
Cannabinoids with psychoactive effects are currently listed to include delta 9 THC, delta 8 THC, delta 10 THC, delta 11 THC, HHC, HHCP, THCa, THCO, THCv, THCp, THCb, THCh, THCJD, and THCx.
Furthermore, “Any cannabinoid product marketed as having mind- or mood-altering effects (changes to perception, thoughts, emotions, behavior, or awareness) may contain psychoactive cannabinoids, even if the packaging does not disclose this fact.”
Therefore, the door permitting these products is still somewhat open, and many questions arising regarding how the state government will address cannabinoid products in its emergency rules.
After all, the psychoactive hemp products that the executive order targets contain THC levels within the federal limit of 0.3% or less delta 9 per dry weight. Or at least they’re supposed to, anyway.
Will the ban on psychoactive hemp derivatives extend to full-spectrum CBD edibles that have traces of THC? What about CBD products made in Missouri, without THC, that are marketed as relaxing, mood-boosting, or anti-anxiety?
We will soon find out the answers before September 1st, when the new executive order goes into effect.
