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Florida Gov. DeSantis vetoes controversial hemp legislation, cites small businesses

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3 weeks ago

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday vetoed a bill that would have outlawed certain hemp products in the state, including ones with delta-9, which critics have called an unregulated copycat of marijuana.

The bill (SB 1698) had drawn censure from manufacturers and sellers of hemp-based products who warned it would put vendors out of business and drive customers to the illegal drug market.

“Small businesses are the cornerstone of Florida’s economy,” DeSantis wrote in his veto letter. “While Senate Bill 1698’s goals are commendable, the bill would, in fact, impose debilitating regulatory burdens on small businesses and almost certainly fail to achieve its purposes.

“(It) would introduce dramatic disruption and harm to many small retail and manufacturing businesses in Florida – businesses that have emerged due to recent legislation paving the way for the commercial use of hemp,” he wrote.

At the same time, the governor has strongly opposed a proposed constitutional amendment allowing recreational marijuana in the state: “Do we want to have more marijuana in our communities? I don’t think it’ll work out well,” he said in April.

Among others, JD McCormick, president of the Florida Healthy Alternatives Association, billed as the “preeminent trade organization” for the hemp-derived products industry, quickly praised the veto. McCormick said the governor “saw this bill for what it was – a way to sweep the hemp industry out of business in the state of Florida.”

DeSantis “understands that everyday Floridians rely on hemp and CBD products to stay away from harmful and addictive medications, and that thousands of Floridians have built local businesses to serve this critical need,” McCormick added.

In this year’s legislative session, House sponsor Tommy Gregory, R-Lakewood Ranch, said the bill was aimed at closing a loophole in a 2019 law that authorized hemp to be grown in the state to take advantage of a federal farm law.

Hemp and marijuana are cannabis plants, but levels of the cannabinoid THC differ, with hemp having a THC level of 0.3 percent or less. Other cannabinoids in hemp, however, can be changed to increase the inebriating effects of products.

The legislation would have limited THC concentration in hemp-based products to “5 milligrams per serving and 50 milligrams per 14 container on a wet-weight basis, whichever is less.”

Intoxicating hemp-based products should “go the way of opium,” Gregory said, adding that manufacturers and retailers shouldn’t be allowed to “use a loophole to manufacture a recreational drug.”

In his letter, DeSantis said he “encourage(d) the Florida Legislature to reconsider this topic during the next legislative session and engage with all relevant stakeholders to create a comprehensive regulatory framework for the manufacture and sale of hemp and hemp-derived products.

“Sensible, non-arbitrary regulation will provide businesses and consumers alike with much-needed stability – safeguarding public health and safety, allowing legitimate industry to flourish, and removing bad actors from the market,” he wrote.

Among specific recommendations for lawmakers who will meet in 2025, DeSantis said they “should ensure that hemp-derived cannabinoids are sold behind the counter and that hemp retail shops operate outside sufficient proximities from schools, religious institutions, and other areas where children and families regularly gather.”

Moreover, “these shops should not present themselves as medical offices, and the Legislature should consider measures to prevent the ubiquity and concentration of these retail locations in communities across the state.”

Finally, he said the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, under Republican Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, should “continue using its full, existing authority to root out products that violate Florida law.”

In a statement, Simpson said, “We still have strong laws on the books to protect children from these harmful drugs thanks to the bill sponsored by Sen. (Colleen) Burton and approved by Gov. DeSantis last year. The department will continue to aggressively implement the law.” (Burton, a Lakeland Republican, also carried this year’s bill.)

That’s a reference to another law (SB 1676) DeSantis mentioned in his veto letter that “prohibits the sale of hemp products to anyone under 21, prohibits the sale or distribution of products found to be mislabeled or attractive to children, requires all hemp processing facilities to meet food safety and sanitation standards, and provides a potency cap on all products containing hemp extract.”

The News Service of Florida contributed reporting.

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