The debate over whether to ban THC edibles continues in the Louisiana House of Representatives. House members are expected to debate and vote on Senate Bill 237 by Sen. Thomas Pressly (R-Shreveport) on Wednesday. That bill would ban all hemp products that contain any THC.
Also on Wednesday, the Louisiana Senate will debate a competing bill that would regulate those same products instead of banning them. That bill's sponsor says his measure both keeps the public safe while protecting the state's hemp industry.
"This is a big, big agriculture product that we can tap into and we can boom even more in Louisiana," Rep. Dustin Miller (D-Opelousas) said. "Now with several years of trying, I think we're narrowing down the seed and the proper ways to grow this."
Miller says farmers from across the state have called him in support of his bill. In fact, he says the Louisiana Farm Bureau contacted him to voice its support for the bill. According to Miller, those farmers invested lots of time and money developing a strain of hemp that could grow in Louisiana's climate. An outright ban of THC products, he says, would hurt those farmers and the businesses that sell their products.
"We have to remember that these products can be bought online at any point, so there's no reason for us not to allow our local businesses here in Louisiana--which we have over 3,000 retail licenses now selling this product--to continue to be in business."
Miller says House Bill 952 also addresses one of the major concerns Pressly used as pretext to file his bill: keeping THC products out of the hands of children.
"Tell me what stores have allowed this to be in kids hands?" Miller asked, noting that he's not heard of any confirmed reports that minors purchased THC from any stores in Louisiana.
Miller, though, says he understands edibles and other hemp-based THC products need to be regulated. That's why his bill calls for putting those products behind a counter and setting the legal minimum age to buy those items at 21. Miller says a proposed amendment to his bill would prohibit convenience stores from selling edibles.
"We're going to limit where these things are going to be sold," Miller said. "The reason for that is to add extra precautions to keep this away from any kids getting into it."
According to Miller, the most important purpose for his bill is to protect an emerging industry in Louisiana, an industry that's legal under federal law.
"My bill tries to reign in the industry, regulate it more, and increase testing so we can continue having these products and these businesses open," Miller said. "We as legislators need to do everything we can to help small businesses grow, build sales tax revenue in the state of Louisiana, while also keeping our constituents safe, and that's what my bill does."
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