A Nebraska bill would criminalize hemp-based THC. Opponents say it could make grandma a felon

LINCOLN, Neb. — Kind Life Dispensary has been offering cannabinoid gummies, tinctures, ointments, now even canned beverages for seven years as one of the first businesses in Nebraska to offer such products. Founder and co-owner Andrea Watkins said her venture has been wildly successful, and she now has three locations in Nebraska's capital city that employ eight people and sell to hundreds of regulars who use the products to treat everything from aches and pains to anxiety and post traumatic stress disorder.

But now, she's worried her livelihood will crumble as a bill winding its way through the Nebraska Legislature would outlaw most of the products she sells.

The Nebraska bill would criminalize the sale and possession of an array of products containing hemp-based tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC — the same compound that gives marijuana its psychoactive properties. Any product containing more than a total weight of 0.3% THC or more than 10 milligrams total per package would be outlawed.

''If that bill becomes law? We would have to close,'' Watkins said recently at her flagship store that looks like a cross between a pharmacy and a spa.

She suspects many of the more than 300 businesses across the state offering similar products since hemp was legalized under the 2018 federal farm bill could face the same fate. That farm bill created a legal loophole that allows manufacturers to synthesize THC from hemp plants and sell it in products where marijuana isn't legal to sell.

As the bill is currently written, it would even ban topical products like THC-containing lotions and creams intended to dull joint and muscle pains, leading opponents to accuse the bill's sponsors of making criminals of grandparents seeking a treatment for arthritis.

''What happens to all the grannies who have some kind of CBD with delta-8 in the back of their medicine cabinet?'' Omaha Sen. Wendy DeBoer asked during recent debate on the Nebraska bill, adding that the bill would ''make felons of all the grannies'' using products with hemp-based THC for aching joints.

The Nebraska bill includes a grace period through the end of 2025 to allow people who have such products to dispose of them.

The debate over cannabinoid products

Republican lawmakers behind Nebraska's bill say it's needed to protect people — especially children — from dangerous products that use synthetic cannabinoids ''masquerading as hemp'' and are infused into food and drink with candy and fruit flavors. Several lawmakers relayed accounts of children and others suffering ill effects and even hospitalization after consuming products containing synthesized THC.

But those amount to scare tactics that mischaracterize the benefits of the products, said Dr. Andrea Holmes, an expert in organic chemistry with an emphasis in cannabis. Holmes is a co-owner of Kind Life Dispensaries and has traveled the country promoting regulated cannabis and cannabinoid products.

''What they leave out in these cases they talk about is that the person has also taken some other substance or has some underlying problem that leads to their condition,'' Holmes said. ''Our products aren't dangerous.''

Opponents of the bill say it is part of a yearslong effort by state Republicans — including Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers — to criminalize hemp products and thwart growing efforts to legalize marijuana both in Nebraska and across the country. Dozens of states have legalized marijuana for medical or recreational use. In November, voters in Nebraska overwhelmingly approved medical marijuana use.

''We need to look at that fact. Most people want these types of products,'' Holmes said.

A proposal for regulation in place of a ban

So far, Nebraska lawmakers have rejected efforts by Omaha state Sen. John Cavanaugh, a Democrat, to supplant the ban bill with a measure that would require strict regulation of hemp-based consumables, as several other states have done. The Nebraska Hemp Industries Association supports Cavanaugh's effort to regulate the industry.

Cavanaugh and supporters of his measure say banning hemp products at a time when the state is suffering dramatic revenue shortfalls would just hit state coffers harder.

Hemp-derived cannabinoid businesses employ more than 1,600 people in Nebraska and provide a tax revenue potential of nearly $8 million to the state, Cavanaugh said, citing figures from the 2023 U.S. National Cannabinoid Report.

Nebraska attorney general homes in on cannabinoid product sellers

Despite the decriminalization of hemp and voters' approval of some marijuana use, Hilgers has been crisscrossing the state targeting businesses that sell hemp-based cannabinoid products. Many shops have received cease-and-desist letters. Some have been subject to raids by law enforcement. Hilgers insists he's protecting the public from dangerous products and unscrupulous dealers trading in plain sight.

''With our new complaints, we are ramping up our efforts to clean up Nebraska,'' Hilgers said in September, when he sued four businesses in Norfolk selling hemp-based consumables. ''These stores are misleading Nebraskans. Not one of the products we tested were accurately labeled, and many contained controlled substances.''

Nebraska is far from alone in the push to restrict access to consumable hemp and other THC products. It joins a slew of other states where similar efforts to regulate, criminalize or ban such products, including Alabama, Florida, Tennessee and Texas.

But Democratic-led states also have led efforts to restrict hemp-derived products. In California, where recreational marijuana use is legal and heavily regulated and taxed, regulators issued a ban last year on food and beverage products with hemp-derived THC, citing health concerns.