Illinois lawmakers joined the licensed cannabis industry Thursday in calling for a ban on intoxicating hemp products such as delta-8 THC, a move retailers of such substances said would put them out of business.
The Cannabis Business Association of Illinois, which represents large licensed marijuana companies, called for allowing regulated sales of non-intoxicating hemp products such as CBD, but prohibiting sales of intoxicants until a committee can recommend how to proceed.
Tiffany Ingram, executive director of the association, called synthetically derived cannabinoids, including delta-8 and THC-O, “Frankenstein weed.”
Hemp is the same cannabis plant that makes marijuana, but by law is supposed to have less than .3% THC, the component that gets pot users high. Federal lawmakers legalized it in the 2018 Farm Bill. But manufacturers found ways to create derivatives that get users high.
The products are now commonly sold at gas stations, smoke shops, and corner stores, with no age restrictions and no requirements for testing or labeling. Some packaging mimics snacks or candy that appeal to children.
“This is why Illinois needs to push pause on these products,” Ingram said.
Unlike hemp, licensed cannabis companies in Illinois must test and label their products for potency, pesticides and other contaminants, have limits on total THC, and prohibit sales to those 21 and older. Customers also must pay high taxes.
But some hemp business owners say they voluntarily follow the same standards and have long called for state regulation so they don’t get lumped in with bad operators.
Charles Wu, co-founder of Chi’Tiva, with hemp stores in Chicago and Worth, said the proposed ban was a “money play” to eliminate competition.
“We want to operate responsibly and on a level playing field,” he said. “This would put us out of business.”
Rep. La Shawn Ford has introduced an alternative bill that would allow sales of intoxicating hemp products, but require them to be tested, labeled, regulated and taxed. Just as with cannabis, he said, prohibition only creates a underground market.
“This is so strange and hypocritical,” Ford said. “Just because you ban a product doesn’t mean it’s going away. We need to tax and regulate it.”
Several lawmakers spoke in favor of the ban.
Chief sponsor Rep. Nick Smith, who represents an area from the South Side of Chicago to Kankakee County, called it “common sense legislation” to protect children, consumers and licensed businesses.
Rep. Eva-Dina Delgado, a mother of a teenager who represents the Northwest Side of Chicago, said kids get it from stores and call it “greening out.”
“It scares me to my core to think about young people putting that in their bodies and we just have no idea what’s in it,” she said.
Ron Miller, part of family-owned Navada Labs, which operates BLYSS Dispensary in downstate Mount Vernon, called it a “betrayal” that the state allows unregulated operators while he has to follow strict and costly regulations.
“Now (we) have to compete with an unlevel playing field,” he said.
The bill would require hemp business to be licensed and follow good manufacturing practices. Violators would be subject to fines of up to $10,000 and loss of license. The Illinois Department of Agriculture and local police could conduct enforcement.
As proposed, the measure would create a committee to recommend safety standards and require state agencies to establish a regulatory and enforcement framework for hemp-derived THC products. The bill also would authorize 50 new dispensaries and 50 new infusers.
The committee would make its recommendations by Jan. 1, with licenses to be awarded by July 2025.
