Hemp?

The cannabis industry is layered, complicated, and not easy to understand unless, of course, you are knee deep.

The hemp ban, which McConnell snuck in there right before the bill was signed to reopen the federal government, has been written about ad nauseam. McConnell (an evil man who should have retired long ago ) screwed up the first time with legalizing hemp for Kentucky farmers. The ban will not take full effect for twelve months. Hemp is cannabis, but these particular products contain more than 0.4 milligrams of THC per package – a trace amount that is present in most CBD products vs. the THC products that are regulated by each state, and the primary component is THC.

Essentially, many of the drinks one might see at their local deli, or products purchased online and shipped across state lines, are hemp-derived and lack oversight. Many companies jumped into hemp products, such as gummies and drinks, as a back-door way to get into the game without being regulated. They all knew it was a risk. The lobbyists went crazy trying to stop this ban because hemp is a new business for liquor companies to get into as well, without having to get a license, essentially an opportunity for many to jump in with ease. Most companies probably thought that if the industry got large enough, the government would have to let it be. At this point, the hemp industry is doing roughly $30 billion in revenue and employs countless people. This is just another incompetent cog in the wheel of the federal government attempting to legalize an industry that should have been legal for decades.

Gotham can not sell hemp products in our stores. We can only sell products manufactured and regulated in New York State. That is the same for every state: the products in every dispensary across the country are state-regulated, not federally regulated, and the laws set forth by each state govern them. Every business in the state has spent countless dollars on building, be it a farm, a brand, or a dispensary. Hemp is taking revenue away from each of these businesses that are a part of each state’s cannabis industry. Hemp is also taking tax dollars from each state’s pocket.

The media has had a heyday, as usual, writing about this, and it is apparent that the majority of writers not deep in the industry don’t get it. I am all for this hemp ban. It should never have been allowed in the first place. The message from the hemp companies is that people won’t be able to get their products anymore, but that is so wrong because the better products are in their local dispensary, with different levels of THC based on the consumers’ needs. They will know precisely what is in those drinks and gummies.

Have no fear, this was the right move for the people and businesses in the cannabis industry who are following the rules. Somebody should clue Rand Paul in, or perhaps we should follow the money trail on why he is so hellbent on his rhetoric that people need their hemp gummies. You can find better gummies at your local dispensary.