A deal to re-open the deferral government has finally been reached after the longest shutdown in U.S. history. But in the deal is a measure that could impact business here in Georgia.
The funding bill essentially makes many hemp products illegal because it caps THC, the chemical that gets you high, in those items.
Why support the measure?
Supporters say it closes a loophole that led to a rush of marijuana-like products onto store shelves.
Potential impact to Georgia businesses
Hemp businesses say the provision threatens a multi-billion-dollar industry and hundreds of thousands of jobs nationwide. They say the legislation will wipe out hemp businesses in Georgia.
“It would make us take 95 percent of the products off of my shelf,” said Joseph Salome, who owns The Georgia Hemp Co. “I put a lot into this over the past 10 years.”
Congress on Wednesday passed a funding bill to open the federal government after a record shutdown. It includes a provision to outlaw nearly all hemp-derived consumer products. The legislation bans products with more than 0.4-milligrams of THC per container.
Supporters argue the measure closes a loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill that led to a flood of products that give you a high like marijuana.
Salome says the new ban as it stands will force him to shut his doors.
“Horrible bill,” Salome said. “It would devastate a hemp farmer, a hemp manufacturer and hemp retailers. We’d have to file for bankruptcy.
Millions of dollars lost
Kyle Townsend, a Clinical Assistant Professor at the Day School of Hospitality, says the measure could wipe out millions of dollars of revenue in Georgia.
“That provision is effectively going to remove all products that exist on store shelves and brewery product lists currently. This is, effectively, a nail in the coffin, if not one of the biggest ones,” Townsend said. “Edibles, things like gummies, drinks in some cases like seltzer drinks, even in some cases, balms and products that are used for pain and things like that, that are used topically.”
Tom Church is a trial lawyer who represents retailers and wholesalers.
“We’re talking about a multi-billion-dollar industry that is going to almost disappear overnight,” Church said. “The stores that remain open are going to have to empty a lot of their shelves for a lot of their current inventory and consumers aren’t going to have access to a lot of the products that they currently have access to.”
