There’s been a lot of recent chatter circulating around the possibility of all hemp-derived products being made illegal in Florida. This is due to the proposed Florida House Bill 1475 & Senate Bill 1676. Let’s break down key points in these bills and what the effects will be if they pass.

Florida House Bill 1475

The Florida House Bill 1475 is relatively short, only 8 pages. It begins by defining terms to be used throughout the bill starting with what “Food” is and has Hemp Extract listed under the definition. It further defines that hemp extract is considered food that requires time and temperature control for safety and integrity of product.

It is further stated that hemp-derived cannabinoids are not controlled substances provided they are compliant with the section. They then define “Hemp” as the plant cannabis sativa L. and anything from it whether its leaves, seeds, to salts, whether growing or not, and not exceeding 0.3% THC Delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol based on dry-weight. Synthetic cannabinoids are not included. “Hemp extract” is defined as a substance of compound intended for ingestion or inhalation that contain cannabinoids, derived from hemp, and contains no controlled substances. They further define “Synthetically derived cannabinoid” as any cannabinoid created by reacting either cannabis or noncannabis extract with solvent or acid to increase concentration of a present cannabinoid or create a new one not found originally in the extract. “Total tetrahydrocannabinol” is also defined as the sum of all tetrahydrocannabinol isomers, very important here as you’ll soon read below.

The bill proceeds to layout distribution and retail sale of hemp extract, everything here is standard needing certificate of analysis and passing all tests. Then it states wherever this batch of extract was tested needs to hold a current and valid permit that meets human health or food safety sanitization requirements of the issued permit. Further listed out that hemp extract cannot be sold to a business in Florida unless that business has been properly permitted as per the section, meaning they will have to be certified for human health and food safety sanitization requirements.

Further in the bill it outlines more rules, such as hemp extract can’t Exceed 0.5 milligrams total tetrahydrocannabinol per dose or 2 milligrams total tetrahydrocannabinol per container. Most importantly it states that when calculating total tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) amounts, it must include Delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol, exo-tetrahydrocannabinol otherwise known as Delta-11, and hexahydrocannabinol (HHC). There’s a bit more about defining cannabis and what parts of the plant are and then ends with saying this act shall take effect July 1, 2023.

Florida Senate Bill 1676

The Florida Senate Bill 1676 shares very similar tone and verbiage of the House Bill 1475. It lays out all the same definitions or very similarly worded for “Food” “Hemp” “Hemp Extract” “Synthetically derived cannabinoid”. Most interesting is their definition for “Total tetrahydrocannabinol” means the sum of all cannabinoids as defined by the department in milligrams.

Further it outlines distribution and retail sale of hemp extract with some common practices on batches being tested, but a troubling line is “The batch contained 0.5 milligrams total cannabinoids per pursuant to the testing of a random sample of the batch”. It goes on with almost identical requirements from the House Bill 1475 with proper valid permits for human health or food safety in the facility where tested and sold.

More key information to take away is hemp extract products cannot be sold to any person under 21 years of age. Most important it states that hemp extract may not exceed 0.5 milligrams total tetrahydrocannabinol per serving or 2 milligrams total tetrahydrocannabinol per package. Further down they define total cannabinoid testing must include at minimum, delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol, delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, delta-9 tetrahydrocannalibonic acid, delta-10 tetrahydrocannabinol, delta-9,11 tetrahydrocannabinol, exo-tetracannabinol, and hexahydrocannabinol.

It ends with this act shall take effect July 1, 2023.

What to take away from this

If these come into effect this effectively makes all hemp extract products defined as food, and will force more licensing on a lot of businesses to be able to test, distribute, and sell retail hemp products. It will also outlaw practically all hemp derived products we’ve been seeing hit the market such as Delta-8, Delta-10, Delta-11, and other minor psychoactive cannabinoids as they will be viewed the same as Delta-9 THC.

What can you do to help fight for hemp products?

If you are a resident of Florida or own a small business in the State you need to reach out to your local representative and tell them that you do not want House Bill 1475, and reach out to your senators and tell them you do not want Senate Bill 1676.

House Bill 1475 was written by Florida State Representative Will Robinson.

Call Capitol Office (850) 717-5071 | Call District Office (941) 708-4968

Senate Bill 1676 was written by Florida State Senator Colleen Burton.

Call District Office (863) 413-1529 | Call Tallahassee Office (850) 487-5012