Mississippi House Passes Bill to Address Sale of Hemp Products
Mississippi House Bill 1676, called the “Mississippi Intoxicating Hemp Regulation Act,” passed the House on March 14, 2024, and is now being sent to the Senate. This bill targets CBD products being sold at gas stations, convenience stores, and other retailers that contain more than 0.3% THC. Some CBD producers are taking advantage of a gap in the law because the products contain THCa and not THC. However, THCa converts to THC when heated. The bill also targets CBD products that are mislabeled and contain more than the legal THC level. Some products also contain high levels of pesticides.
The bill is based on product testing results by Steephill Mississippi, a state-licensed testing facility. The results of the testing found the CBD products contained 1-15% THC. At 0.3% and above, a CBD product could be psychoactive. State medical marijuana products have 15-25% THC. The bill would allow CBD products with high levels of THC to be sold only in medical marijuana dispensaries. The products in the medical cannabis dispensary would be separated into two categories. One set of products requires a medical cannabis card, and the second set would be the CBD products with THC that exceeds the legal limit.
The House bill requires testing of hemp products for THC levels and pesticides. The lab in Steephill, Mississippi, found high levels of pesticides in some of the products it tested. They included myclobutanil, bifenazate, diazinon, chlorantraniliprole, malathion, and more. The current testing results were similar to those of an undercover testing operation conducted in November 2023. That operation found THC levels were about 30 times the legal amount allowed, and some also contained unhealthy levels of pesticides.
State Representative Lee Yancey said,
“So, what has happened in our gas stations across the state, those selling these products have figured out an ingenious way to sell people something that gets them very high. And so, we have a recreational drug problem in our state right now in our gas stations.”
House Bill 1676 also limits the ability to purchase products to people 21 years or older.
CBD.market frequently warns consumers that untrustworthy companies mislabel their products for content. The products are not tested for quality, cannabinoid levels and the presence of pesticides. Consumers should only buy CBD products from transparent and honest companies that publish their Certificate of Analysis (COA) for review. The testing should only be done by a third-party licensed laboratory.
The new Mississippi law allows the sale of legal CBD products in convenience stores, but accessing and reading the COA, if there is a QR code, is difficult. It is better to purchase CBD products through a marketplace like cbd.market where there is a link to the COA and where you can comparison shop brands. This is a safety and well-being issue.
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