American Bar Association Business Law Today February Monthly Overview: Business and Regulated Industries – February 2024
Over the past few years, retail and online sales of products containing hemp-derived and synthetically created cannabinoids have increased dramatically. As a result, more states are poised to take legislative action this year to regulate and curb the sale of these new products. Below is a summary of legislation introduced at the state level this year.
California
On February 7, 2024, Assembly Bill 2223 (AB 2223) was introduced in the California State Assembly by Assemblywoman Cecilia Aguiar Curry (D). Among other changes, the bill seeks to add a new term to California law, “synthetically derived cannabinoids,” which refers to chemical reactions that change the molecular structure of substances isolated or extracted from cannabinoids. It will be defined as the substance derived from it. Plant Cannabis sativa L. (excluding decarboxylation from naturally occurring cannabinoid acids). The bill also amends the definition of “industrial hemp” to clarify that no product may contain “cannabinoids of synthetic origin.” This bill would strengthen California's existing regulations for these substances, including delta-8-THC, delta-10-THC, and THCA.
nebraska
Nebraska House Bill 999 (LB 999), filed by Sen. Teresa Eibach (R) on January 5, 2024, would prohibit CBD products containing THC above the legal limit, especially synthetic delta-8-THC and similar products. The aim is to make it clear that delta compounds are illegal. Pursuant to Nebraska law. The bill would also transfer regulation of hemp cultivation from the Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA) to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). If LB 999 passes, the NDA Secretary will send a formal letter to the USDA revoking the state cannabis program, and Nebraska cannabis producers will be required to apply for licenses to produce cannabis under the USDA production program.
florida
Senate Bill 1698 (SB 1698), filed on January 5, 2023, and House Bill 1613 (HB 1613), filed on January 9, 2024, require, among other things, the amount of delta-9-THC in hemp products. We are asking for a limit of 2. mg per serving or 10 mg per container, whichever is less. These bills also create a new term: “total delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol concentration.” It is defined as the concentration calculated as (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) + (0.877 x (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid)). To be considered legal “hemp” under the proposed law, products in Florida must contain no more than 0.3 percent total delta-9-THC and contain large amounts of THCA. The product would effectively be banned. Under this law, legal “hemp” extracts include “delta-8-tetrahydrocannabinol, delta-10-tetrahydrocannabinol, hexahydrocannabinol, tetrahydrocannabinol acetate, tetrahydrocannabinol, tetrahydrocannabinol, It also cannot include “synthetic or natural versions” of controlled substances, such as “cannabivarin.” The bill would also expand restrictions on advertising and packaging of hemp products.
south dakota
House Bill 1125 (HB 1125), introduced in the South Dakota Legislature on January 22, 2024, seeks to prohibit the sale of chemically modified or transformed cannabis-derived products. Delta-10-THC. HB 1125 introduces a new term, “chemically derived cannabinoids,” defined as “chemicals produced by a chemical reaction that changes the molecular structure of chemicals derived from the cannabis plant.” (This new term “does not include cannabinoids produced by decarboxylation from naturally occurring cannabinoid acids without the use of chemical catalysts.”) Such as delta-8-THC and delta-10-THC. compounds occur naturally in the cannabis plant, but because they occur in such small amounts that commercially available products containing usable amounts of these compounds typically contain one or more compounds through a process called isomerization. It is created by converting other cannabinoids into delta-8- or delta-10-THC. Therefore, if South Dakota's new law passes, these “chemically derived” cannabinoids will be illegal in the state.
Reprinted with permission from the American Bar Association's February Overview of Business Law Today: Business and Regulated Industries.
