Hemp entrepreneurs in Florida receive a reprieve  — at least for another month

Included in a congressional continuing resolution that President Trump signed Wednesday to fund the federal government through Dec. 11 is a provision that delays most of impending federal hemp restrictions that were set to go into effect on Nov. 12.

Those restrictions — approved in an appropriations bill signed into law nearly a year ago — would change the federal definition of legal hemp to a “total THC standard” that eliminates approximately 95% of existing hemp-derived products, according to the U.S. Hemp Roundtable.

“The delay is a relief,” said Michael Smith, owner of Herban Flow, a St. Petersburg retail establishment, who says about 80% of sales from his two stores come from hemp-derived THC products.

“It means we can keep THC on the shelf through the holidays, and for a shop our size that’s not a small thing. But it’s one month, and Dec. 11 is a funding deadline. So, this isn’t settled, it’s postponed.”

The U.S. Hemp Roundtable, the biggest lobbying group in Washington working to postpone further if not outright eliminate the pending ban, told its members this week in a written statement that it will continue to work with lawmakers and stakeholders “to advance a comprehensive federal framework that protects consumers, prevents youth access to intoxicating products, provides certainty for farmers and businesses, and preserves access to lawful hemp products.”

Carlos Hermida owns the Chillum Mushroom and Hemp dispensary in Tampa’s Ybor City. He has made numerous trips to Tallahassee in recent years to oppose proposed regulations for Florida’s burgeoning hemp market.

“My hope is that the hemp lobby can raise enough money to grease the right politicians’ pockets to make this all go away,” he said.

Some advocates of a federal ban on THC hemp have mentioned that one of the beneficiaries of a repeal or longer delay is the son-in-law of Susie Wiles, President Trump’s chief of staff.

That would be Bret Worley, 30. He’s chief executive of MC Nutraceuticals, which claims to be the “largest global supplier of cannabinoids.” Worley married Wiles’ daughter, Caroline, at the Trump Winery in Virginia in June.

Kevin Sabet is CEO of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM). He emphasizes that Congress has not repealed the looming hemp ban. And he said in a press release this week that his organization intends for the federal ban on intoxicating hemp THC products to take “full effect on December 11.”

“The industry will spend the next few months doing what it has always done, flooding Washington with lobbyists and pushing for ‘regulation,’” he said. “Don’t be fooled. Every attempt at ‘regulation’ is a permanent license to keep selling high-potency THC in gas stations and candy aisles. We beat this industry once, and we’ll do it again.”

Herban Flow owner Michael Smith boasts that his stores feature the state’s largest selection of THC-infused beverages in the state. He hopes for a solution whereby the hemp market gets regulated instead of prohibited “and doesn’t get handed to the alcohol industry on the way there.”

“Regulating hemp drinks like alcohol should mean establishing guardrails — 21 and up, tested, compliant labels, and licensed manufacturers,” he told the Phoenix via email. “It shouldn’t mean routing every can through the people we’re competing with. That version means independent shops and small brands won’t survive.”

Hermida realizes the fate of his hemp business in Tampa depends completely on circumstances outside of his control. “The delay is nice, and I am hopeful that they will do the right thing for our industry,” he says.