A major win for the legal cannabis market was achieved in Minnesota where lawmakers have approved a bill allowing the sale of hemp-derived THC products as well as food and drink with CBD. Adults above the age of 21 will be able to buy these products not just in dispensaries but in grocery and convenience stores as well. This is a great step forward in legalization and a massive milestone for breaking down the stigma that has long been unfairly related to cannabis.
Bill Details And Requirements
The bill, h3595-2, which still needs Democratic Gov. Tim Walz’s signature, enables both delta-8 THC and delta-9 THC products, as well as additional intoxicants derived from hemp, to be sold in grocery and convenience stores.
The measure, according to Steven Brown, co-founder of the Minnesota Cannabis Association, will enable them to produce the products that customers are after, however, it does come with certain limitations.
For one, it would limit hemp-derived intoxicants to a maximum of 50 milligrams of THC per package and 5 milligrams of THC in each serving.
Another limit is that edibles must always be packaged in childproof and tamper-evident containers with a warning to “Keep this product out of reach of children” on the label. It makes for limitations such as this one to be in place in order to protect children from accidental consumption – especially when one considers the way cannabis can affect neurological development in the youth.
Additionally, there is the prohibition of products being “modeled after a brand of items primarily consumed by or marketed to children” and “packaged in a way that matches the trademarked, characteristic, or product-specialized packaging of any commercially accessible food product”.
Finally, and many would argue most importantly, these hemp-derived THC products and other hemp-derived cannabis products, need to be thoroughly tested and analyzed for harmful toxins such as mold, heavy metals, pesticides, fertilizers, and solvents. This is very important for ensuring that products are safe for consumption, and it is standard across many other industries – from food to medicine.
Cannabis Stigma
Minnesota presently authorizes the sale of medicinal marijuana products but not adult-use products; however, beginning August 1, the new statute will take effect, enabling the sale of hemp-derived THC products as well as CBD-infused food and drink in grocery and convenience stores. A win legal cannabis sales both in terms of market and stigma breakdown.
Cannabis was a legitimate and commonly used medicine during the turn of the century, and the average individual wouldn’t hesitate to take it for a range of ailments. However, in the 1930s, a global campaign of public reeducation and new legislation began to sweep the globe, ushering in a new era for cannabis, in which stigmatization of cannabis users swiftly became the societal norm.
Cannabis has only recently – and slowly – begun to be lifted from the unnecessary and unfair prohibition it was placed under. An unfortunate drawback of this prohibition – above the obvious lack of a legal market that drives the illicit one while making cannabis both difficult and dangerous to obtain – is the stigma that has developed around cannabis.
According to a new study published in the European Journal of Criminology, places with the harshest cannabis restrictions had the highest levels of stigma so it makes sense that this new bill, that includes grocery and convenience stores in its specifications for sale, will do wonders when it comes to breaking down this cannabis stigma.
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