MJBizMag February 2022 - 8

FROM THE EDITOR Kate Lavin
Unexpected Consequences
The 2018 Farm Bill is proof that regulatory schemes don't always
work as intended
W
hen U.S. Sen. Mitch
McConnell successfully
lobbied Congress to
include industrial hemp cultivation
and production in the 2018 U.S.
Farm Bill, he changed the future of
the cannabis business forever.
To be sure, the legalization of
hemp led thousands of traditional
farmers to enter the industry and
likely created jobs for McConnell's
constituents back in Kentucky.
It also provided a loophole for
Americans in every state to access
intoxicating cannabis without ever
touching marijuana-at least, not
marijuana as it is defined by the
Controlled Substances Act.
I'd wager the staunch
conservative politician never saw
this coming.
A Different Kind of THC
Unlike delta-9 THC, the
cannabinoid that provides
marijuana's psychoactive effects,
delta-8 THC starts its life as CBD,
the nonintoxicating darling of
supplement makers and wellness
gurus everywhere.
With a new crop of farmers
adding to the existing CBD supply
post-Farm Bill, many wholesalers
found themselves awash in the
trendy cannabinoid. But necessity
is the mother of invention, and
hemp extractors needed to start
moving CBD-or risk bankruptcy.
When extractors learned that
a chemical process could turn
CBD-a federally legal hemp
derivative-into a form of THC
that could be sold in any
8 February 2022 | MJBizMagazine
U.S. market, they jumped at the
opportunity.
Hold on a Minute ...
After decades of fighting against
prohibition, some marijuana
license holders found themselves
arguing for these industry
newcomers to be shut down.
The results of their efforts have
been mixed, as Hemp Industry
Daily Editor Kristen Nichols reports
in our cover package, which starts
on page 32.
But before we throw the force of
the law at entrepreneurs who outsmarted
the system, consider this:
McConnell and others in Congress
had a hand in creating D-8. If the
Farm Bill had legalized marijuana
and not just hemp, would there
even be a market for unregulated
cannabis?
Look Before You Leap
The truth is, some of the brightest
minds in cannabis helped create
the hemp provisions of the 2018
Farm Bill, and none of them saw
this curveball coming.
After years spent lobbying
to get hemp included in the
omnibus legislation package,
the ramifications of that action
seemed to evolve in an instant.
But this should be no surprise to
seasoned marijuana executives.
One of the most frustrating
parts about the state-regulated
marijuana industry are the
ever-changing regulations. The
changes often force product
makers to reprint labels and
When extractors
learned that a
chemical process
could turn CBD into a
form of THC that could
be sold in any U.S.
market, they jumped
at the opportunity.
reformulate edibles recipes, while
cultivators and retailers submit
a constantly evolving menu of
reports to the state.
Delta-8 THC is one more
example of how regulators can
spend years crafting rules to
govern the industry, but once a law
goes into effect, the reality can
look totally different.
In our cover package about
lab-made cannabinoids, the staff
of MJBizMagazine examines
both sides of the D-8 issue-and
how regulating it could have
unexpected consequences for
other minor cannabinoids-so
businesses can be prepared for the
future ahead.
Kate Lavin is the editor
of MJBizMagazine. Reach
her at kate.lavin@
mjbizdaily.com.
MJBizMag February 2022

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