Louisiana's THC edible producers are thrilled that a bill that would have put them out of business is dead--at least, for now. Those producers worry that a bill banning the products they make will come back in future legislative sessions.
"Our opposition has shown that they don't want competition," Crescent Canna CEO Joe Gerrity said, adding that the alcohol and medical marijuana industries are the competition lobbying to have the hemp-based edible industry banned.
Gerrity says he expects them to pitch another THC edible ban next year.
"We were caught a little flat-footed," Gerrity said. "We didn't realize the scope of just how much they wanted these things gone."
Gerrity says a grassroots effort of THC edible consumers helped kill Senate Bill 237, authored by Sen. Thomas Pressly (R-Shreveport).
"We faced pretty terrible odds to win this thing," Gerrity said. "We managed to pull out a victory because, as it turns out, people like these products, and they want them to be available."
Gerrity says that grassroots support will help the hemp-based THC industry fight off future attempts at an edible ban.
"In the future, we'll be better organized, we'll be better funded, and we'll be better prepared to fend off any attacks on the industry," Gerrity said.
Meanwhile, House Bill 952, authored by Rep. Dustin Miller (D-Opelousas), will be taken up by a conference committee on Monday in the final hours of the session. That bill would regulate how hemp-based THC edibles are sold, including restricting sales of edibles to people aged 21 and older and requiring stores to put edibles behind the counter. Although Gerrity says he has reservations about some of the language in the bill, he supports it.
"Overall, it's positive," Gerrity said. "We don't have any problem having packages of gummies stored behind a counter."
