For some North Carolinians, hemp helps them heal.
“Having relocated to North Carolina, I don’t have access to the dispensary that I’ve had in Virginia, so I’ve had to rely on hemp products delivered here in the mail,” Kiki Snyder said.
Other WRAL Top Stories
But the products she uses to cope with a mental health condition could go away under the spending plan passed this week to reopen the federal government.
The legislation effectively bans most hemp-derived THC products like gummies, drinks and vapes.
“If these products are no longer available to me, I don’t know what I would do,” Snyder said. “I would seriously consider relocating to another state.”
According to the North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, there are over 1,500 licensed hemp producers in the state.
The law limits hemp products to no more than 0.4 milligrams of THC. Some current, legal products have five to six times that amount.
Last month, attorneys general across the country, including North Carolina’s, urged Congress to change hemp laws.
In a letter to federal lawmakers, 39 attorneys general said some back actors are using a loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill to sell “potent, psychoactive THC products” often packaged in ways meant to appeal to children.
“Industry actors have nefariously misinterpreted the Farm Bill’s legalization of low concentrations of hemp-derived delta-9 and the Bill’s silence regarding hemp-derived THC products other than delta-9 to claim that the Farm Bill allows them to produce and sell various synthetic cannabinoids regardless of the chemicals’ potency and psychoactive effects,” the letter read.
Earlier this year, NC Poison Control said cases of childhood cannabis exposures are increasing.
With the changes set to take effect next year, Snyder hopes for a different outcome, so access is not cut off.
“Those people who don’t have the option to relocate may be forced to seek these products out that are not regulated, not safe. They may look in other areas where they may do more harm to themselves than good,” Snyder said.
