When Louisiana’s 2025 Regular Legislative Session gets underway on Monday, April 14, several bills that will be under consideration would tax consumable hemp products. House Bill 187, by Rep. Bryan Fontenot, R-Thibodeaux, would raise it from 3% to 15%.
A separate bill, House Bill 235, by State Rep. Mike Echols, R-Monroe, would raise the hemp tax even higher to 20% for several reasons. As the Louisiana Radio Network reports, Echols explained his reasoning behind the legislation. “One, if it dissuades people from using what could become an addictive product. That’s one thing. But we have to be able to fund the service lines that are out there, addressing those that might have an addiction disorder.”
But hemp retailers, like Joe Gerrity of Crescent Canna, say those tax hikes would only hurt them, and they feel unfairly targeted by lawmakers. Canna contends that, “The last thing this state needs is to become even more anti-business and put even higher taxes on consumer or products that we know they enjoy.”
Consumable products are derived from industrial hemp that contains any cannabinoid, including cannabidiol (CBD) a medicinal compound that is not considered psychoactive, and the psychoactive tetrahydrocannabinol (also known as Delta 8 THC and the stronger Delta 9 THC) . Because of the passage of House Bill 952 / Act No. 752 in the 2024 legislative session, beginning on January 1, 2025 in Louisiana, both THC and CBD items have had their amounts lowered from 8 mg to 5 mg.
Two other bills, House Bill 12 and House Bill 36, by Rep. Laurie Schlegel, R-Metairie, would add criminal penalties for selling consumable hemp to underage customers [HB12], and expand the definition of illegal controlled substance to include consumable hemp products [HB36]. The proposed legislation would include the penalties of up to a $2,000 fine and up to 6 months in jail.
