A proposed South Dakota law intended to crack down on products that contain high concentrations of intoxicating delta-8 THC and other cannabinoids also threatens the CBD market in one of the country’s biggest hemp-growing states.
The State Senate this week reverted to a highly restrictive version of a House Bill (HB 1125), which was softened by amendment before the lower body unanimously passed it.
The version of the bill that ultimately passed the House of Representatives would have prohibited only products containing high-concentration, synthetically processed compounds made from hemp. It would not have prohibited CBD and other extracts that contain the trace amounts of delta-8 THC and other cannabinoids that occur naturally in hemp flowers.
By broadening the restrictions, the Senate now appears to have put those products at risk.
The current version of the bill targets gummies, vape pens, pre-rolled joints and smokable flowers that come from the hemp plant – “high” inducing products that have proliferated in South Dakota and all across the U.S. due to loopholes in the 2018 U.S. Farm Bill, which legalized hemp federally but failed to account for the full range of potential outputs from hemp flowers.
In addition to the highly popular delta-8 THC, intoxicating cannabinoids synthetically made from hemp include delta-10 THC, THC-O, HHC and THCP.
Sen. Ryan Maher, who unsuccessfully tried to amend the law to restore the exemption for trace cannabinoids as it moved through the upper house, said the full ban could result in a flood of products on South Dakota streets this spring as retailers move to clear their soon-to-be illegal inventory of flower-based hemp goods – both intoxicating and non-intoxicating.
Following Senate passage, HB 1125 has moved to a conference committee which will reconcile it with the House version before it goes to Gov. Kristy Noem, who is expected to sign the law.
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