More than 200
products approved by the Department of Health (LDH) do not comply with state law and could be forced off store shelves under an emergency rule considered by lawmakers last week.If approved, the proposed emergency rule under consideration by the House Health and Welfare Committee could have a devastating impact on small businesses with products affected by the health department’s error, according to business owners and hemp industry advocates.
At a meeting of the committee on March 1, Republican House Speaker Clay Schexnayder, who has written four bills to regulate the hemp industry in the state, said the LDH has botched the implementation of the legislation.
“It was crystal clear in what we wanted as a Legislature,”
.Under the hemp laws passed by the legislature, hemp products including
, and other edibles are limited to no more than eight milligrams of THC per serving. Unlike the regulations in many other states, however, each package of such merchandise can contain no more than one serving. Approving the emergency rule could affect as many as 3,000 hemp businesses, the state’s 70 hemp farmers and up to 3,000 retailers, according to the House speaker.“If (LDH) followed the guidelines we wouldn’t have this issue today,” said Schexnayder. “LDH has put each one of these businesses and people in jeopardy.”
Schexnayder noted that the state’s hemp laws clearly prohibit edible products with more than one eight-milligram serving. But his office has identified nearly 400 hemp products that fail to comply with the one-serving limitation. A review completed by the LDH revealed that the agency has approved at least 230 products that do not comply with the regulation.
Louisiana Hemp Businesses Cry Foul
Business owners and representatives of Lousiana’s hemp industry testified at Wednesday’s hearing that an emergency rule forcing the approved products off store shelves would be a major economic blow that could force some businesses into bankruptcy. Jason Garsee, owner of Str8W8 Cannabis in Monroe, Louisiana and the president of the Gulf South Hemp Association, told the committee that entrepreneurs in the hemp industry welcome the guidance of state legislation. But he added that the bureaucracy responsible for implementing the regulations has made it difficult for businesses to survive.
“We don’t have a problem working with regulations. […] We want regulation,”
. “But what we do have a problem is a department with certain individuals that are trying to knock the kneecaps out of every entrepreneur and business owner in this state. They’re average individuals. They have families. They have goals and they have dreams, and they’re being destroyed today because of all this.”Crystal Grayson, owner of Zorrillo Cannabis Company, noted that removing products from store shelves will also impact consumers.
“I have customers coming to us daily, crying in relief because it has changed their life,” said Grayson. “And by regressing backwards and not working together, like we need to, it’s only going to hurt the public.”
Democratic state Rep. C. Travis Johnson noted that the proposed emergency rule would have a significant financial impact on companies with approved products that could be pulled from store shelves and called for the businesses to be compensated for their losses.
“I’m hoping you have in mind how much these small businesses invested,”
. “Louisiana has to be business friendly, and in this particular case there were errors made on our part. So when you’re making these rules […] that’s going to impact their business and their investment, and the trust that businesses have for Louisiana, that’s important how we handle this and how we make these companies whole.”“I haven’t heard any proposals to make them whole,” Johnson added.