Wisconsin hemp businesses say Senate bill banning THC products would ‘decimate’ the industry
Wisconsin residents reflect on the impact of the government shutdown
Many Wisconsinites feel frustrated with the government shutdown and believe both parties are responsible for not reaching a solution.
Wisconsin hemp businesses are sounding the alarm after the U.S. Senate approved a bill that would essentially ban the sale of intoxicating hemp products nationally.
Late on Nov. 10, senators voted in favor of a funding bill that would end the longest-ever federal government shutdown. It included a provision that would close the loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized the sale of hemp-derived THC products nationwide, including in Wisconsin.
The Farm Bill loophole made it federally legal to sell hemp-derived THC products if they contain less than 0.3% THC by dry weight. As a result, the sale of hemp and cannabinoids extracted from it, like THCA, delta-8, HHC, THCV and CBD, became legal in Wisconsin.
Under the new Senate-approved bill, legal hemp products would be limited to 0.4 milligrams of THC per container and these products would be banned nationwide for “personal or household use.” In Wisconsin, the new legislation would effectively shut down hundreds of dispensaries, smoke shops and cannabis bars that have opened since 2018 and eliminate jobs for thousands of people, business owners say.
At a Nov. 11 roundtable with local hemp business owners, Mike Sickler, co-owner of TerraSol Dispensary, said he and his 15 employees would be out of a job if the new federal regulations are enacted.
“This is my life,” Sickler said “I was at AT&T for 20-something years and left there to start this. This is what I do, so I don’t want it to go away.”
Nick Kanavas, director of operations for Batch CBD, said the new regulations would “decimate” his company, which employs 20 people at its Bay View facility. The U.S. House is expected to vote on the bill later this week, and if approved, the new hemp regulations would take effect a year later.
“What has transpired over the last day or two is a hit for the industry,” Kanavas added. “But the war on hemp at the federal level is not over, and we will continue to push forward for clear, standard regulations.”
Even if the new federal rules are stopped, some Wisconsin lawmakers have also recently doubled down on efforts to ban the sale of intoxicating hemp products statewide.
However, State Sen. Dora Drake, D-Milwaukee, who attended the Tuesday roundtable, said she supports the continued sale of hemp products with more statewide regulation. Drake said she “still needs to dig into” the new federal regulations, but hopes to “figure out a solution that would move our state forward.”
“I have business owners who are in [my] district providing jobs and are making revenue for the state and our farmers,” she added. “They’re experiencing adversity because of what’s happening nationally.”
John Kashou, owner of Kangaroo Brands, which includes THC and CBD shop Kind Oasis, said he and other local business owners agree with enacting “common-sense” regulations on the hemp industry statewide. Among the regulations business owners proposed were testing requirements, clearly labeled packaging and age restrictions to avoid children accessing the products.
“Whatever happens on a national level is going to happen,” Kashou said. “We’ve got to be more concerned about what we’re going to do on a state level in order to ensure not only our continued existence, but to protect thousands and thousands of jobs that are at stake.”
The final Senate vote Monday came after Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, proposed a amendment that would eliminate that language around hemp products in the funding bill. That amendment failed in a 76-24 vote.
From Wisconsin, Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin voted to advance the amendment, and Republican Sen. Ron Johnson voted to table it.
