LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A bill adding new limits on cannabis-infused beverages in Kentucky continues to move through the state legislature, clearing the House of Representatives Wednesday despite concerns from hemp industry officials.
Senate Bill 202 proposes key changes to the sales and potency of the drinks that have proliferated in recent years. Kentucky hasn’t approved recreational marijuana, but the 2018 federal farm bill legalized hemp plants with low levels of THC — inadvertently kickstarting the “weed water” boom.
The Kentucky legislation caps the amount of intoxicating THC at 5 milligrams per 12-ounce cans. And while it allows retailers to continue to sell drinks with higher amounts until June 1, drink sales in bars and restaurants would be banned outright.
Cannabis drinks also would be treated like other alcoholic beverages under a distribution system that flows from the producer to a distributor and then a retailer. Sales would be allowed by licensed retailers only in “wet” counties, with the Kentucky Alcoholic Beverage Control Board in charge of enforcing licensing and distributing laws.
State Sen. Julie Raque Adams, R-Louisville, called the bill an attempt to put “common-sense parameters” on a fast-growing market.
“It’s just a starting step,” she testified during a meeting of the House licensing and occupations committee. “We will continue to make progress as we go along, and more people engage. But I think this is a good place to start.”
The House passed the bill on a 77-17 vote, sending it back to the Senate to consider changes made Wednesday. If the two chambers agree, the measure goes to Gov. Andy Beshear for his action.
SB 202 has changed since it was introduced last week in a “shell bill” — a vehicle for legislation that hasn’t yet been made public. Raque Adams removed an outright moratorium on the products and, in the latest version, allows some on-premise drink sales at fairs and festivals.
Hemp industry representatives urged legislators to oppose the bill, raising a number of concerns that include requiring retailers to get liquor licenses to sell the drinks — a move that could affect an estimated 1,300 stores in Kentucky, such as those specializing in hemp products.
“It was hastily written without consideration of the feedback of the hemp industry, the one stakeholder group that actually understands the vast complex nature of the situation,” said Annie Rouse of CannaBuzz Bar and Dispensary in Lexington.
The post New Kentucky limits on cannabis-infused drinks advance in state legislature first appeared on Voxtrend News.
