Hemp business owners concerned Cannabis reform bill could destroy them
BALTIMORE - We’re less than six months away from marijuana being able to be used recreationally in the state of Maryland.
Now regulations concerning those potentially distributing cannabis is being discussed.
Although many people and business owners are thrilled with the new bill, some CBD business owners said some language in the current bill could be damaging to their businesses.
Satchel works at Charm City Hemp. It’s a wellness boutique specializing in educating customers about CBD products.
He said it’s been a growing industry for people often looking for natural remedies to heal.
Most of the products they sell have small traces of THC derived from Hemp. If the current bill passes as is, it would make many of their products obsolete.
“Generally everything we carry is going to be hemp CBD which is essentially the same thing. Pain relief, stress relief, sleep anxiety, stuff like that. CBD’s nice and it can treat any number of things. Any of those gummies, tinctures, as long as they’re full spectrum meaning it does have trace amounts of THC in it, we wouldn’t be able to sell that,” Satchel said.
Nicholas Patrick is the co-founder of the Maryland Healthy Alternatives Association and he also owns a CBD Wellness Center. Patrick said they’ve been working with senators to amend some of the language in the cannabis reform senate bill 516.
“In that specific language is that they've placed a THC milligram cap of 0.5 milligrams per serving, and two and a half milligrams per package,” Patrick said.
Many CBD business owners said more than half of their products contain some traces of THC higher than the recommended amount proposed in the bill. Although they’re happy about the direction the cannabis reform is going in Maryland, they just want to make sure the hemp industry is protected as well so everyone can prosper.
“It's a 100-page bill with a lot of focus on social equity and the banking structure and the regulatory structure and the licensing and all of these different parts of it, the criminal justice reform, these are all really good things. But a very little known fact that is that there is language in this bill that's kind of flying under the radar. That would up end the entire Maryland hemp industry, including our farmers, our processors, our retailers, everybody would legitimately go out of business without the amendments,” Patrick said.
Many of the businesses owners in the hemp industry said they are asking to be regulated therefore, they can be differentiated. Although the products they offer are similar to some of those in the marijuana industry they said they cater to different audiences.
