Louisiana governor says stricter enforcement on THC products, law change may be coming

(WVUE) – Gov. John Bel Edwards mentioned Louisiana residents will see a authorities clampdown on unregulated THC merchandise that may trigger an individual to get excessive. The governor and legislators can also search to tweak a associated legislation about hemp merchandise through the Louisiana Legislature’s spring session.

“I’m not one who favors legalizing marijuana and I don’t need one thing that … has a THC content material that’s successfully the identical factor,” Edwards mentioned in an interview Tuesday. “You’re going to see extra enforcement, however you might be additionally going to see clarification of what the legislation is.”

The Advocate reported over the weekend that Edwards and legislators might have by accident legalized leisure THC merchandise that create a excessive for customers final yr. On the time, the governor and lawmakers thought they had been creating an exception for “adult-use” hemp merchandise, however not people who have a powerful, marijuana-like impact on folks.

However, merchandise which might be much like leisure marijuana – however derived from hemp – have hit shops throughout the state. They’re usually cheaper and simpler to buy than medical marijuana, which is tightly regulated in Louisiana.

Edwards and most lawmakers have opposed efforts to legalize leisure marijuana, however hemp merchandise have loved broad political help. Louisiana’s agricultural sector desires a foothold within the rising hemp trade and has pushed lawmakers to carry restrictions on these enterprise ventures.

Republican Home Speaker Clay Schexnayder, who has a detailed relationship with the state agricultural trade, was the sponsor of the laws that will have inadvertently opened up the THC product market greater than anticipated.

The governor mentioned he, Schexnayder and different state officers are assembly commonly to find out what adjustments the state must make to tighten up the THC market.

Louisiana’s response can also be affected by new guidelines the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration launched this week, Edwards mentioned.

Federal officers introduced Monday that two well-liked THC merchandise bought in Louisiana – Delta-9THCO and Delta-8THCO – have been categorised as managed substances and won’t be thought-about hemp merchandise for the needs of federal regulation, in accordance with Excessive Instances, a information outlet centered on marijuana coverage and tradition.

If the merchandise are not categorised as a part of the hemp household, then it is perhaps simpler for Louisiana to take away them from native retailer cabinets earlier than a legislation change.

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