Florida officials have removed nearly 11,000 packages of hemp products for violating child-protection standards for packaging, labeling, and marketing throughout the state during the Florida Department of Agriculture’s “Operation Safe Summer.”

In a statement, Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson said the agency has “drawn a hard line in Florida when it comes to protecting our children from dangerous and deceptive hemp products.”

“’Operation Safe Summer’ is our latest effort to crack down on bad actors who think they can skirt the law, ignore public safety, and profit off high-potency, intoxicating hemp products that endanger our children. We will not tire in our commitment to cleaning up this industry, holding violators accountable, and sending a clear message: if you refuse to follow the law, you won’t be doing business in Florida.” — Simpson in a press release

The agency in April and June advised businesses in April and June about the planned enforcement of new Agriculture Department rules around intoxicating hemp-infused products. The new rules, enacted in 2023, include:

Prohibition on specified color additives.

Mandatory child-resistant packaging in accordance with ASTM International D 3475-20, Standard Classification of Child Resistant Packages.

Certificates of analysis must now include laboratory information, the concentration of total delta-9 THC, and confirm the presence or absence of prohibited substances and pathogens.

Restrictions on marketing and advertising of hemp and hemp extract intended for human consumption.

Enhanced labeling requirements, including the use of common household measurements for serving sizes and the provision of a scannable barcode or QR code, must link to the certificate of analysis within three or fewer steps.

Water activity for cannabis flower or leaves must be 0.60 (±0.05).

Since July 2023, the Agriculture Department has uncovered more than 738,000 packages of hemp products in violation of child-protection standards.

The Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission last week approved emergency regulations to begin accepting medical cannabis applications as soon as Gov. Jim Pillen (R) allows the agency to proceed, the Nebraska Examiner reports. Under the state’s voter-approved medical cannabis law, the commission must start accepting applications by July 1.

The regulations largely mirror a legislative proposal that failed in the legislature last month and would remain in effect for 90 days after being approved by the governor.

Under the medical cannabis law, medical cannabis licensing must begin by October 1, and the emergency regulations would allow for the licensing of cultivators, product manufacturers, dispensaries, and transporters, with individuals or organizations only permitted one type of license.

Under the emergency regulations, only one dispensary would be allowed in each of the state’s 12 District Court Judicial Districts; no dispensary could be located within 1,000 feet of any school, daycare, church or hospital; at least 51% of an applicant’s business or organization must have resided in Nebraska and be a U.S. citizen for at least the past four years; and applicants would have to pay to submit two legible sets of fingerprints to the FBI and the Nebraska State Patrol for a criminal background check.

The regulations do not specify qualifying conditions for medical cannabis access but require that a physician’s recommendation specifies the product being recommended, the recommended dosage and potency, the number of doses, the directions for use, and the name of the patient.

The regulations allow dispensaries to sell oral tablets, capsules, or tinctures; non-sugarcoated gelatinous cubes, gelatinous rectangular cuboids, or lozenges in a cube or rectangular cuboid shape; topical preparations; suppositories; transdermal patches; and liquids or oils for administration using a nebulizer or inhaler. Flower is not permitted under the regulations, neither are infused food or drinks, any products containing artificial or natural flavoring or coloring, or any products that can be smoked or vaped.

The governor of Kentucky says that he expects to see medical marijuana growers “putting seed in the ground really soon,” projecting that patients will have access to cannabis before the year’s end.

Speaking with reporters after his “Team Kentucky” update, Gov. Andy Beshear (D) was asked whether medical marijuana patients will have to wait until 2026 before dispensaries open and products are available.

“I hope not,” the governor said. “On medical marijuana, we’re getting really close—this fall and this winter, I think we are very close to doing our site visits to both growers and potentially even the first processor.”

“My sense is that it’s probably the processors—with the amount of equipment and the size of the investment there—that are going to drive that,” he said. “But the first set of growers are going to be putting seed in the ground really soon.”

Beshear added that he acknowledges “it’s taken longer than we would have liked” to stand up the industry since he signed medical marijuana legalization into law in 2023.

“But the law kind of set that up with how it had to be implemented,” he said.

The governor noted that, in recognition of the delayed implementation, he recently signed an executive order to waive renewal fees for patients who get their cards this year so that they don’t get charged again before retailers open. And another order he signed providing protections for qualified patients who obtain medical marijuana outside of Kentucky “will stay in place.”

“We’re making sure that that doesn’t hold us back from getting the other parts open, because we’re opening all these different parts at the same time,” he said. “So almost all of our dispensaries [that received licenses] now have their final counties. I think we will have all of them with the final counties here in about a month.”

Beshear separately announced this month that the state has launched a new online directory that lets people see where medical cannabis dispensaries will be opening near them.

He emphasized that the state has been working to deliver access to patients “at the earliest possible date,” and that involved expediting the licensing process. The governor in January also ceremonially awarded the commonwealth’s first medical marijuana cards.

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Meanwhile, the governor sent a letter to Kentucky’s congressional delegation in January, “urging them to take decisive action to protect the constitutional rights of our law abiding medical cannabis patients” by repealing the federal ban on gun possession by people who use marijuana.

That came after bipartisan Kentucky senators filed legislation that similarly called on the state’s federal representatives to take corrective action, which Beshear said he supports but would like to see even more sweeping change on the federal level.

The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) warned Kentucky residents late last year that, if they choose to participate in the state’s medical marijuana program, they will be prohibited from buying or possessing firearms under federal law.

As far as the implementation of the state’s medical cannabis law goes, Beshear said in his State of the Commonwealth address in January that patients will have access to cannabis sometime “this year.” He also later shared tips for patients to find a doctor and get registered to participate in the cannabis program.

Health practitioners have been able to start assessing patients for recommendations since the beginning of December.

While there currently aren’t any up-and-running dispensaries available to patients, Beshear has further affirmed that an executive order he signed in 2023 will stay in effect in the interim, protecting patients who possess medical cannabis purchased at out-of-state licensed retailers.

During last year’s November election, Kentucky also saw more than 100 cities and counties approve local ordinances to allow medical cannabis businesses in their jurisdictions. The governor said the election results demonstrate that “the jury is no longer out” on the issue that is clearly supported by voters across partisan and geographical lines.

New Chicago Police Policy Discourages Searches Based On Marijuana Odor

Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.