{"id":77769,"date":"2024-09-11T06:16:47","date_gmt":"2024-09-11T14:16:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2024\/09\/11\/missouri-attorney-general-launches-effort-to-aid-crackdown-on-intoxicating-hemp-derived-cannabinoid-products\/"},"modified":"2024-09-11T19:46:16","modified_gmt":"2024-09-12T03:46:16","slug":"missouri-attorney-general-launches-effort-to-aid-crackdown-on-intoxicating-hemp-derived-cannabinoid-products","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2024\/09\/11\/missouri-attorney-general-launches-effort-to-aid-crackdown-on-intoxicating-hemp-derived-cannabinoid-products\/","title":{"rendered":"Missouri Attorney General Launches Effort To Aid Crackdown On Intoxicating Hemp-Derived Cannabinoid Products"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re committed to keeping unsafe products away from our kids and ensuring that those who break the law are held accountable\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

By Rebecca Rivas, Missouri Independent<\/strong><\/p>\n

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey (R) is creating a new specialized unit to assist the state\u2019s alcohol and tobacco regulators in cracking down on intoxicating hemp products, Bailey announced at a Capitol press conference Tuesday afternoon.<\/p>\n

The announcement comes after Gov. Mike Parson\u2019s (R) ban on these products<\/a> hit a delay of up to six months.<\/p>\n

The ban was supposed to take effect on September 1, after Parson signed an executive order on August 1 to remove all hemp-derived THC edibles and beverages from store shelves. However last month, Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft (R) rejected the emergency rules detailing how it would have been enforced.<\/p>\n

That meant regulators at the Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control didn\u2019t have the authority to enforce the ban among stores that have licenses to sell liquor or tobacco products\u2014which is where the vast majority of products are being sold, Parson said.<\/p>\n

Ashcroft\u2019s action did not prevent the Department of Health and Senior Services\u2019s (DHSS) regulators from investigating nearly 60 facilities<\/a>, Parson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cDHSS investigations have confirmed our fears,\u201d Parson said. \u201cProduct after product resembles popular snacks and candies that would be hard for me to determine that contained cannabis, let alone my five-year-old granddaughter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because hemp isn\u2019t a controlled substance like marijuana, there\u2019s no state or federal law saying teenagers or children can\u2019t buy products, such as delta-8 drinks, or that stores can\u2019t sell them to minors, Parson said.<\/p>\n

And there\u2019s no requirement to list potential effects on the label or test how much THC is actually in them. State lawmakers have failed to pass such requirements<\/a> the last two years.<\/p>\n

Parson said the main target of his order are companies that sell intoxicating hemp edibles that mimic popular candy. However, hemp industry leaders argue<\/a> the order also bans products that aren\u2019t attractive to children, have gone through lab testing and are only sold to customers 21 and up.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Missouri Hemp Trade Association agrees that illegal products should be removed from store shelves,\u201d said Craig Katz, spokesman for the association. \u201cBut DHSS is casting such a wide net that it is not differentiating legitimate products from bad products, and in the process, it is trampling on the constitution and ruining small businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n

The association has decried DHSS\u2019s enforcement of these products. It filed a lawsuit on August 30 in Cole County Circuit Court in hopes of stopping the governor\u2019s ban<\/a>\u00a0through a preliminary injunction. The association argues the products are legal and state law prohibits regulators from deeming them as \u201cadulterated.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDHSS must stop seizing and destroying products that are legal and follow the letter of the law,\u201d Katz said.<\/p>\n

At the Tuesday press conference, Bailey said his office will create a \u201cdedicated electronic repository\u201d for the Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control (ATC) to submit actionable referrals to his office. The division will be responsible for \u201cinvestigating its licensees, collecting evidence of deceptive marketing practices,\u201d Bailey said.<\/p>\n

Bailey\u2019s specialized new unit<\/a> within his office\u2019s Consumer Protection Division will work with the ATC to offer legal support, he said. His office will use its authority under the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act to bring legal action against licensees who continue prohibited practices related to unregulated psychoactive cannabis products, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ATC will assist by making its investigators available as witnesses for legal proceedings resulting from actionable referrals,\u201d Bailey said. \u201cOur enforcement toolkit will be robust from cease-and-desist letters and investigations to subpoenas and lawsuits to referrals for criminal prosecution where appropriate.\u201d<\/p>\n

He believes this partnership will lead to a significant reduction in these products.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re committed to keeping unsafe products away from our kids,\u201d Bailey said, \u201cand ensuring that those who break the law are held accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n

This story was first published by Missouri Independent.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Missouri Regulators Issue Another Recall Of Thousands Of Marijuana Products<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

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

The post Missouri Attorney General Launches Effort To Aid Crackdown On Intoxicating Hemp-Derived Cannabinoid Products<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n


\n
\nRead More: Missouri Attorney General Launches Effort To Aid Crackdown On Intoxicating Hemp-Derived Cannabinoid Products<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe\u2019re committed to keeping unsafe products away from our kids and ensuring that those who break the law are held accountable\u201d By Rebecca Rivas, Missouri Independent Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey (R) is creating a new specialized unit to assist the state\u2019s alcohol and tobacco regulators in cracking down onContinue 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\/77769"}],"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=77769"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77769\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77770,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77769\/revisions\/77770"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77769"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}