North Carolina lawmakers are considering banning individuals under 21 from buying or possessing certain hemp-derived consumable products, including smokable hemp flower, hemp cigarettes, gummies and beverages, or any items that include the drug kratom.
The House Agriculture and Environment Committee approved a rewrite of Senate Bill 59 on Wednesday. It’s the latest attempt by state lawmakers to regulate the sale of hemp products after years of proposals that ultimately didn’t succeed.
The measure would prohibit businesses from selling these products to those under 21. If a seller has “reasonable grounds” to believe the prospective buyer is under 21, the seller must check the buyer’s ID.
Rep. Jimmy Dixon (R-Duplin), who presented the bill, said he was motivated to draw public attention to issues surrounding cannabis. He said there was a 14-year-old in his district who wound up in the emergency room after purchasing a hemp-derived product.
“There are a lot of other details surrounding cannabis that have been discussed and will continue to be discussed, but ladies and gentlemen, to be sure we’ve got the good sense to be an agent on these types of problems, that is the lowest hanging fruit there is,” he said.
NC cannabis report emphasizes shutting off kids’ access, while allowing a “regulated adult market.”
Those found in violation of the measure would face a Class 2 misdemeanor as well as a $500 fine for a first offense, $1,000 for a second offense and $1,500 for subsequent offenses.
Rep. Pricey Harrison (D-Guilford) asked if the bill’s language accounted for potential modifications to hemp-derived products. It’s common for makers of synthetic recreational drugs to make changes to their products’ chemical makeup to get around legal bans or restrictions.
“I assume the way the definition is as written is broad enough that it captures any future manipulation of molecules,” she said. Dixon nodded in the affirmative.
Legislators also voted in favor of an amendment to add kratom products to the under-21 ban.
Rep. Jeffrey McNeely (R-Iredell), who proposed the amendment, said he felt it was necessary to add those items to the bill.
“I’ve worked on this for quite a while now, trying to put forth these bills,” McNeely said. “We’ve definitely got a problem. So I hope we keep bringing this to light, and we get something accomplished before we get out of short session here.”
Both the amendment and the legislation passed unanimously without debate.
The bill moves next to the House Rules Committee. Other amendments will be heard when it appears on the House floor, which could be as soon as next week.
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