PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A legislative hearing about hemp-derived THC, commonly referred to as "convenience store cannabis," highlights the difficulties Pennsylvania encounters in addressing the availability of this unregulated substance found in gas stations and tobacco shops throughout the state.
Senator Dan Laughlin, who chairs the Senate Law and Justice Committee as a member of the Republican party, stated that hemp-based THC products pose a public safety issue due to their exploitation of regulatory gaps in the 2018 Federal Farm Bill.
He stated, "A whole industry has emerged in a murky legal zone. These items can be easily accessed without significant age limits, they aren’t subject to mandatory laboratory tests, and there are no explicit guidelines for how they should be packaged or labeled."
He mentioned that the implementation of recreational marijuana use in Pennsylvania should include some form of supervision.
I express this as an individual working towards legalizing the adult-use market in Pennsylvania. While I am not against greater liberty, I believe that some form of regulation is necessary in this area.
Chris Lindsay from the American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp clarified how the farm bill unexpectedly created an opening for these products.
Lindsay stated, “To put it this way, hemp isn’t considered a regulated material such as marijuana, and whatever can be extracted from hemp wouldn’t fall under regulation either. Chemists quickly grasped this concept.”
He mentioned that the chemical process behind extracting THC is not well understood, leaving authorities unsure about what tests to conduct when assessing safety relative to medical marijuana products.
Laughlin expressed his hope that Pennsylvania could establish a consolidated regulatory framework, like a cannabis control board, to manage both medical and potentially recreational marijuana along with hemp-based products.