{"id":69218,"date":"2023-10-11T05:10:25","date_gmt":"2023-10-11T13:10:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2023\/10\/11\/alaska-will-regulate-hemp-derived-cannabinoid-products-through-marijuana-control-board\/"},"modified":"2023-10-11T19:46:19","modified_gmt":"2023-10-12T03:46:19","slug":"alaska-will-regulate-hemp-derived-cannabinoid-products-through-marijuana-control-board","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2023\/10\/11\/alaska-will-regulate-hemp-derived-cannabinoid-products-through-marijuana-control-board\/","title":{"rendered":"Alaska Will Regulate Hemp-Derived Cannabinoid Products Through Marijuana Control Board"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you want intoxicating cannabinoids, you should visit your local friendly marijuana retailer.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

By James Brooks, Alaska Beacon<\/strong><\/p>\n

The state of Alaska has approved new regulations on inexpensive cannabis-like products derived from hemp, sometimes referred to as \u201cdiet weed.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new changes mean intoxicating hemp-derived products will have to be regulated by the state\u2019s marijuana control board, an act that will see them removed from vape shops and other unregulated stores across the state.<\/p>\n

Some nonintoxicating products will also be affected by the changes. So-called \u201cfull-spectrum\u201d hemp products intended to help with epilepsy and pain include a variety of cannabinoids, including some now restricted by the state\u2019s industrial hemp program. Manufacturers will have to either extract and combine specific chemicals in isolation or seek approval through the marijuana regulatory process, adding time and expense.<\/p>\n

The new regulations were signed by Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom (R) last week and will take effect November 3.<\/p>\n

Members of the state\u2019s legal marijuana industry championed the changes and said they will close a safety loophole that allowed intoxicating, cannabis-like drugs to be sold to underage Alaskans and without the taxes applied to cannabis.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you want intoxicating cannabinoids, you should visit your local friendly marijuana retailer,\u201d said Brandon Emmett, co-chair of Gov. Mike Dunleavy\u2019s task force on recreational marijuana, which recommended the change earlier this year.<\/p>\n

Hemp businesses, which vocally opposed the change, say that Alaska\u2019s marijuana industry is more interested in extinguishing a competitor.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir interest isn\u2019t about protecting the children. It\u2019s about protecting their dollars,\u201d said Danny Ferguson of Anchorage-based Primo Alaska.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have well over 13,000 [hemp-derived] edibles in stock at my store. I have no way to sell them in Alaska before November,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

At issue are changes to the state\u2019s industrial hemp program.<\/p>\n

Under a 2018 federal law and a state law adopted two years ago, cannabis plants that contain less than 0.3 percent THC\u2014a common psychoactive chemical\u2014are considered hemp. Plants with more than that amount are considered marijuana, and tightly regulated.<\/p>\n

But even though hemp contains low concentrations of psychoactive chemicals, those chemicals can be extracted, processed and refined into intoxicating products.<\/p>\n

Because those products don\u2019t come from the state\u2019s marijuana industry, they can be sold at vape shops, gas stations and other stores. Marijuana products can only be grown and sold by specially licensed vendors.<\/p>\n

Hemp-derived products also are taxed at much lower rates than marijuana, and they can be bought by Alaskans under 21 years old, the minimum age to buy marijuana in Alaska.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really think this was an unintended consequence,\u201d said Joan Wilson, director of the Alaska Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office, which regulates marijuana in the state.<\/p>\n

The state marijuana board directed Wilson to cooperate with the Alaska Department of Natural Resources\u2014which regulates hemp and hemp products\u2014on the new regulations, and the marijuana industry also urged the state to act and clamp down on hemp products.<\/p>\n

The new regulations were as high a priority for the marijuana industry as changes to the marijuana tax system<\/a>, said Ryan Tunseth, president of the Alaska Marijuana Industry Association, a trade group.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor one, it keeps intoxicating products out of the hands of minors, which is a big thing,\u201d he said, \u201cand two, it makes sure that if you are selling intoxicating products, that you\u2019re following all the same regulations that Alaskans expect, and [the state] is able to capture tax revenue from that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hemp-product manufacturers, like Ferguson, say they\u2019ve spent large sums of money to set up their businesses, only to see the state change the rules.<\/p>\n

He\u2019ll be able to continue selling his products in other states\u2014he sells to retailers in Texas, for example\u2014but many Alaska manufacturers are just getting started and will likely go out of business. So might store retailers who rely on hemp products to make ends meet, he speculated.<\/p>\n

While they could become regulated like marijuana businesses are, Ferguson said the cost and complexity means that won\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n

He said he believes the Department of Natural Resources improperly cooperated with the marijuana industry and marijuana regulators, and he expects the hemp industry to get organized and resist the changes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re coming after them to sue them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Wilson said other states have seen similar lawsuits after changing their hemp rules, but she believes Alaska is in a good position to defend itself because it\u2019s not making hemp-derived products illegal; they simply have to be licensed like marijuana.<\/p>\n

This story was first published by the Alaska Beacon.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

\n

New Alaska Rules OK Free Marijuana Samples And Relax Rules On Advertising<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

Photo courtesy of Kimzy Nanney<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

The post Alaska Will Regulate Hemp-Derived Cannabinoid Products Through Marijuana Control Board<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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\u201cIf you want intoxicating cannabinoids, you should visit your local friendly marijuana retailer.\u201d By James Brooks, Alaska Beacon The state of Alaska has approved new regulations on inexpensive cannabis-like products derived from hemp, sometimes referred to as \u201cdiet weed.\u201d The new changes mean intoxicating hemp-derived products will have to beContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":457,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69218"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/457"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69218"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69218\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":69219,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69218\/revisions\/69219"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}