LA HEMP PRODUCTS - Louisiana's Department of Health has approved at least 230 hemp products that should be illegal under state law. As reported in the Lafayette Daily Advertiser, it's a scenario playing out in other states as well, including neighboring Texas. It all has to do with the amount of THC, the psychoactive component that creates a euphoric high… right now it’s limited to 8 milligrams per serving in things like edibles, gummies, beverages, etc.. Experts say 8 milligrams isn’t enough to get the THC “buzz” but it seems manufacturers often stack multiple servings into a single package and that can increase the effect. So agencies that regulate the Hemp industry like the Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control, want to clear things up and crack down.
Republican House Speaker Clay Schexnayder, authored the four primary laws ushering the hemp industry into the state, a move that encouraged entrepreneurs to create hemp-based businesses. During Wednesday's House Health and Welfare Committee hearing, Shexnayder blamed the Louisiana Department of Health, which oversees product labeling for the hemp products for the confusion.
“LDH by their misinterpretation, by whatever they thought has put each one of these businesses and each one of these people in jeopardy,” Shexnayder said.
Regulators and business people also testified the labeling confusion has put entrepreneurs in the fledgling industry at risk of bankruptcy if forced to pull products off their shelves as part of an emergency rule. The committee postponed any immediate action pending any outcome with LDH on the matter and will take things up at a future meeting.
