MORNING HEADLINES | South Carolina lawmakers reportedly are looking to send a bill to the governor’s desk next year that would ban the sale or distribution to anyone under 21 of low-dose hemp-derived consumable products, such as popular THC-infused drinks and edibles.
Unlike beer, wine and spirits, there is currently no legal age requirement to purchase certain edibles or drinks that contain THC. Some South Carolina retailers already voluntarily require the limitation, but groups from law enforcement to representatives from the hemp industry believe it should be state law.
“We have a golden opportunity here to responsibly regulate this booming industry,” said Zach Serrins, an owner of Carolina Dream, a Charleston-based hemp company, told WCSC TV. “We need this legislation. We need to protect consumers. We need to support good actors and legitimate businesses,.”
THC-infused products have become increasingly popular with many dedicated store fronts and local companies opening across the state. But other general retailers, such as gas stations and convenience stores have started selling out-of-state products to appeal to the growing customer base.
“For the most part, South Carolina brands do not appeal to children,” Serrins told an S.C.Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources subcommittee. “Mostly what we are seeing are these ‘gas station products’ that are coming from out of state. Those are the ones that are dressing themselves up like Skittles or Oreos or Doritos.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate passed legislation Monday to end the government shutdown that includes a measure to further regulate hemp-derived products — a move critics say could kill business and hurt hemp farmers.
The new language in the bill would change the definition of what makes a hemp plant legal, a move that U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, said would mean “every plant in the country will have to be destroyed.”
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