Gov. Glenn Youngkin is recommending changes to a pending state law that would exempt some non-intoxicating CBD products from strict new regulations on the sale of delta-8 and other hemp-based concoctions that get users high.
After significant pushback to a proposed rule limiting THC to 2 milligrams per package — which many hemp proponents have said would effectively destroy the industry in Virginia — the governor is proposing a carveout for products that have a 25-to-1 ratio of CBD to THC. Both chemicals are found in cannabis plants, but marijuana plants contain more psychoactive THC and hemp plants generally have higher amounts of non-intoxicating CBD.
Youngkin proposed his changes in the form of a substitute bill, a process typically used for more substantive amendments to legislation as opposed to minor technical fixes.
“The governor’s amendment continues his efforts to crack down on dangerous THC intoxicants including synthetic products such as delta-8,” Youngkin spokeswoman Macaulay Porter said Tuesday.
The amended bill reiterates that any business selling edible or smokable hemp products covered under the proposed rules would have to pay a $1,000 fee to register with the state and face fines of up to $10,000 per day for selling unlawful or mislabeled products.
Some of the changes came in response to pushback from Lisa Smith, a Virginia mother who advocated for the legalization of CBD oil eight years ago as a treatment for her daughter’s severe epilepsy….
