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Newest effort to evade the existential threat to intoxicating hemp biz set to take effect in Nov debuted today with intro of bill by Sens Rand Paul (R-Ky), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn) and Joni Ersnt (R-Iowa). And it takes a decidedly different approach, officially handing the reins over to the states. If passed, bill would allow states to "opt out" of federal language banning all hemp products over 0.4 mg of THC, a dosage that some marketers regard so as inconsequential as to constitute fraud on would-be purchasers. States would be required to enact minimum purchase age and issue a notice to the USDA to alert fed regulators that they're taking hemp regs into their own hands. States would also need to ban any synthetic cannabinoids that don't naturally occur in the hemp plant, release from Sen Rand's office explains. Bill includes protection of interstate commerce, as well, requiring that states do not block transit of intoxicating hemp between states where it is legal. If enacted, this bill would go a long way toward securing existing intoxicating hemp biz, including flourishing bevs. In fact, bevs and the companies that make them, including brewers, are much on the minds of these fed lawmakers. "I've heard loud and clear from brewers, farmers and small businesses in Minnesota - a federal ban on hemp products will be devastating," Sen Klobuchar commented, adding that "Congress should recognize [MN's] leadership and commitment to consumer safety" in this arena.The Hemp Bev Alliance joined these lawmakers and broader advocacy group, the US Hemp Roundtable, to cheer the introduction. "A majority of the states in the country already have a hemp regulatory framework in place to protect public health, with several other states currently working on creating their own regulations," HBA prexy Chris Lackner said in Sen Paul's release. "This commonsense bill will allow those states to continue building a flourishing hemp market that creates jobs and generates much-needed tax revenue," he continued." The comments echo the view expressed by Sen Paul himself, who highlighted that "half the states have already set up their own smart rules, THC limits, age restrictions and safety standards that let hemp farmers grow, manufacturers innovate and consumers stay safe."Alc Bev Parallels: 21st Amendment Light? Trade Practice Penultimate Clause? These possible solutions may sound somewhat familiar for members of the alc bev industry. Famously, the 21st Amendment explicitly grants most regulatory oversight over alcohol to the states. This proposal is a far cry from a constitutional amendment, natch. It is fairly brief, just 6 pgs, and does not add the kinds of detailed fed regs some members of the alc bev biz desire to place hemp and alcohol on even footing. Tho it mandates a minimum age requirement, it does not specify an age, nor does it add any teeth, like the law that raised the US minimum purchase age for alcohol to 21 by putting fed highway funds on the line.But the bill does echo the general thought process of what's called the "penultimate clause" of fed trade practice law, as Brewers Assn govt affairs veep and longtime alc bev atty Marc Sorini commented to our sibling newsletter Insights Express in conversations during Craft Brewers Conference today. Briefly, that clause applies only to malt bevs, saying that trade practice activity is only illegal federally if it's also illegal in the state where the activity occurred. This hemp bill applies a similar logic: hemp would be illegal federally only in states that haven't explicitly permitted it.But Will it Pass? As always, the ultimate question is whether the bill has legs. And plenty remain skeptical about the ability of Congress to pass anything to change the restrictions passed as part of the appropriations process (and reopening of fed govt) last fall. Multiple options exist, recall, including effort to simply delay implementation of the new far stricter limits by 2 yrs. How states would respond to this proposal also remains an open question (or 50+ of them), as some quickly aligned themselves with the impending ban.

POLICY: Fed Bill Aims to Give States Authority to Regulate Hemp, Opt Out of Limits Taking Effect in Nov

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