New restrictions target intoxicating hemp sales, sparking debate over small business impact and potential creation of a black market. A mayoral veto could be coming.
Aldermen voted 32-16 Wednesday to approve an ordinance that will ban the sale of intoxicating hemp products to minors effective February 1 and bar businesses other than licensed marijuana retailers in the city from selling all but a few hemp products effective April 1.
But Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) said after the vote that he has "serious concerns about this measure," warning that it could hurt small business and lead to a black market.
"This proposal that was brought before us, as we've seen in the past with marijuana and alcohol prohibitions, when you make something illegal, you inevitably create a black market. This makes the sale completely unregulated and uncontrolled," he said.
A veto is a possibility, he said: "I have not made a decision yet, but when we enact policy, I think it’s important that we do it right, that we do it well." Johnson added that he will be talking to aldermen and stakeholders in the weeks before the ordinance is set to go into effect.
The ban covers most intoxicating hemp products for human consumption, including "full spectrum" CBD products containing THC, but not beverages, additives, topical creams, and pet products. Licensed bars and restaurants would be able to sell hemp beverages.
Hemp advocates said the ban is an overly broad crackdown, while proponents argued that such products are a danger to children.
"I think we found a path forward that ensures our kids are protected and safe, and that’s the bottom line," said ordinance sponsor Alderman Marty Quinn.
But while Alderman Maria Hadden gave Quinn kudos for seeking a middle path with the measure, Hadden warned the ordinance would hurt small businesses that have created the city's vibrant hemp industry.
"They have been clever, they have been creative, and we’ve had strong entrepreneurs build whole businesses around CBD and hemp products, especially a lot of minority-owned businesses that were shut out by the larger cannabis space," she said.
Hadden said she had used CBD products for their health benefits, and now some of them will be banned.
"CBD and the broad spectrum products do have a lot of healing benefits for people. Whether it’s for anxiety, whether it’s for PTSD, whether it’s for inflammation, there are a lot of products," she said.
Alderman Daniel La Spata also voted against the ordinance, noting that the beverage exception allows one type of intoxicating hemp product to be sold but not others.
"It's all being digested, but it’s legal if you drink it with a straw, and it’s illegal if you chew it with your mouth," La Spata said. "I can’t square that.