Florida House Committee Approves Hemp Regulatory Bill That Would Impose 15% Tax On All THC Products
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“The size of the gummies—limited to 2 grams—that’s just a tiny little pinkie size wide.”
By Mitch Perry, Florida Phoenix
All hemp-derived THC products would be taxed at 15 percent under a proposal passed in a Florida House committee on Wednesday.
The measure is one of two regarding regulation of hemp-derived THC products sponsored by Panhandle Republican Rep. Michelle Salzman that were approved unanimously in the House Budget Committee.
The main bill (HB 7027) is a companion to a Senate bill (SB 438) that has already passed unanimously in that chamber, although they do contain significant differences. Among them is that Salzman’s bill would not ban delta-8, the hemp-derived THC product that has grown in popularity since hemp was legalized in the United States through the 2018 U.S. Farm Bill.
Like its Senate companion, the House bill limits the amount of delta-9 THC in hemp-derived products such as beverages and gummies. It says edibles must contain no more than 2 milligrams, be individually wrapped and be sold in containers with no more than 20 edibles.
That raised objections from Patrick Shatzer of Sunmed/Your CBD Store, who says his company is the largest CBD brick-and-mortar business in the country, with 260 locations nationwide and 42 in Florida.
“The size of the gummies—limited to 2 grams—that’s just a tiny little pinkie size wide,” he said to the committee. “That’s not the industry standard. The industry standard is anywhere from 5 to 8 grams.”
Shatzer also objected to the provision limiting 20 servings per container, saying the average dietary supplements permit 30 gummies in a container. And he raised objections to a prohibition on selling, delivering, bartering, giving or furnishing hemp consumables that total more than 100 milligrams of THC to a person in a 24-hour period, saying it would be unenforceable.
Rep. Salzman replied that, while she is open to changing some of those limits, she is holding firm on limiting personal consumption of such products to 100 milligrams of THC a day.
“If somebody knows that they can’t buy more than 100 milligrams in that day, it’s going to give them a warning subconsciously, ‘Maybe I shouldn’t have more than 100 milligrams of this stuff in a day,’” she said. “And if you want more than 100 milligrams of this stuff a day, you probably need to get a medical cannabis card.”
Regarding the proposed 15 percent excise tax on hemp products, Jodi James of the Florida Cannabis Action Network said that not all hemp products are intoxicating, and that those that aren’t should not be taxed at all.
“In the state of Florida, we don’t tax vitamins, we don’t tax supplements,” she said.
Salzman said following the meeting that she will exempt those products before the bill’s final hearing before House Commerce Committee next week.
“That’s a no-brainer,” she said. “The purpose of this is to give it a sin-tax, and if you’re not using it for sin, then yes.”
Money for testing
The measure says that the first $6 million of revenue collected from the tax would go into a General Inspection Trust fund for enforcement and testing of hemp-derived products. The rest would go into the state’s main account, the General Revenue Fund.
Although the House and Senate bills differ in some respects, one similarity that members of the committee voiced concerns about was a requirement that hemp-containing beverages be sold only through shops licensed to sell alcoholic beverages.
“I don’t think that we should be picking winners and losers here,” said Naples Republican Rep. Lauren Melo. “I, too, would like to see convenience stores added back in.”
“I, too, think it should be treated like alcohol,” added Broward County Democratic Rep. Christine Hunschofsky. “And therefore should be available in the same way that alcohol is.”
Southeast Florida Republican Rep. Toby Overdorf said he would like to see more work regarding synthetics, which are not listed in the House measure.
Much is the same in the House and Senate bills; both would prohibit packaging that might be attractive to children and require the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs to certify any hemp-testing laboratory in Florida or any other state.
The House bill prohibits THC products from being sold, given, bartered, furnished or delivered to consumers at festivals, fairs, trade shows, farmers’ markets, expositions or pop-up retail establishments. And it would ban anyone from ingesting them within 1,000 feet of a public or private elementary, middle or secondary school between the hours of 6 a.m. and midnight.
The bill will move to the Commerce Committee next week, likely its final stop before reaching the floor.
This story was first published by Florida Phoenix.
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