In Louisiana, a Shreveport senator seeks to ban hemp consumables that create THC high

Louisiana's two-year, high-flying hemp party may soon be over if the Legislature approves a bill from a Shreveport senator that would outlaw any hemp consumable products like gummies or chocolate that contain THC.

Critics say the THC-laced edibles and drinks are akin to recreational marijuana and accuse retailers of marketing to minors, but hemp advocates say they have grown an industry that has created thousands of jobs and exploded in sales from $512,000 in 2020 to over $33 million in 2023.

Republican Shreveport Sen. Thomas Pressly's Seante Bill 237 to ban any THC hemp consumable products cleared the House Criminal Justice this week and is now one step away from final passage.

During the House Criminal Justice hearing Pressly held up products that he said are designed to entice minors to the edibles and drinks.

"There are legitimate uses for hemp products — from biofuels to plastics, from fiber to food, and building materials; I have no objection to those products," Pressly said while presenting his bill. "It is the intoxicating, synthetic, lab-created products with THC that my bill focuses on."

Lawmakers could still reach a compromise that more tightly regulates the products to keep them from consumers younger than 21 but prevent an industry shutdown through Democratic Lafayette Rep. Dustin Miller's House Bill 952, which has cleared the House and awaits its first committee hearing in the Senate.

THC is the psychoactive chemical that creates a high. Leafly, a website focused on cannabis use and education, says a 5-milligram dose is "when a high begins to set in for many new or inconsistent consumers."

Hemp's THC levels are typically lower than in its cannabis-cousin marijuana, but it can be concentrated in consumable hemp products and sold at CBD stores in 8-milligram servings.

THC is often credited with helping manage pain, stress and insomnia, among other conditions, but an addiction expert testified that the proliferation of hemp consumable products has also created "a tidal wave of psychosis."

"This is marketed to your youths," said Brandy Price Klingman, chief executive of St. Christopher Wellness Addiction Center in Baton Rouge.

Hemp entrepreneurs testified this week and in past hearings that a ban on consumables would destroy the burgeoning industry and wipe out thousands of jobs.

Last year during a similar debate Casey White told USA Today Network he invested his life savings to open two CBD stores in Abbeville and Lafayette.

"This would destroy our industry," he said.

More: Regulator who ushered in Louisiana gambling expansion resigns, bullish on Shreveport-Bossier

Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1. 

This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Louisiana's high-flying hemp THC party could soon be over