Washington lawmakers are making a last-ditch attempt to block intoxicating, synthetically derived cannabis products, including gummy candies and vape oil, from being sold at gas stations, convenience stores, and smoke shops after earlier bills failed. “These are being sold right now, without any regulation, without any oversight,” said Democratic Sen. Karen Keiser. “It’s a public health danger and a threat, and it needs to be removed.” With about two weeks left in the legislative session, Keiser and Republican Mark Schoesler introduced a measure Friday to ban the products both within Washington’s legal marijuana industry and outside it. The products have proliferated nationally due to a perceived loophole in the 2018 federal Farm Bill, which authorized hemp growing. An alternative bipartisan bill — one that would ban synthetic cannabinoids outside of Washington’s regulated Initiative 502 marijuana market, but convene a scientific panel to recommend ways to authorize them in the future — was introduced earlier in the week in the House. In the past year and a half, producers across the country have taken CBD, a non-intoxicating compound extracted from hemp, and chemically converted it using acids and solvents into impairing delta-8, delta-9, or other types of THC, which is then used in vape oil, gummy candies and other products.
420 Intel – Marijuana Industry News, 02/27/2022 19:00:0