Missouri's governor will soon decide the fate of unregulated intoxicating hemp products. Stores face a November deadline to clear shelves of these popular items.
Despite procedural hiccups earlier this week, lawmakers have approved a bill that will remove all hemp-derived intoxicating cannabinoid products off store shelves beginning November 12—the same date new, restrictive federal hemp rules are set to go into effect.
The measure, House Bill 2641, from Rep. Dave Hinman (R-O'Fallon), got final approval in the House on Thursday after House members concurred with amendments in the Senate to protect marijuana consumer privacy and cannabis workers' right to organize. The Senate acted only after an hours-long filibuster Tuesday afternoon and evening by Sen. Karla May (D-St. Louis) that delayed but ultimately failed to blunt the effort to crack down on cannabinoids.
"I am happy that a bipartisan super majority of legislators in both the Senate and House agree that something needs to be done in limiting intoxicating hemp products," Hinman said Thursday. "This bill is important for local police and prosecutors to keep Missouri citizens safe."
The state has legalized marijuana and has a system of licenses retail and medical marijuana shops, but unregulated intoxicating hemp products with as much as 1,000 mg of THC are currently being sold in hundreds of bars, grocery stores, and smoke shops across the state. Lawmakers in Jefferson City have been trying since 2023 to pass legislation to regulate these products.
This bill would prohibit hemp products from containing more than 0.4 milligrams of THC per container, the same limit set in the federal spending bill that Congress approved last year. Even if Congress were to repeal that restriction, the state bill would require that such products be sold only in licensed marijuana retail outlets.
The bill now goes to the desk of Gov. Mike Keyhoe (R), who is expected to sign it into law.