MISSISSIPPI. – In a legal opinion, Mississippi’s attorney general stated it is illegal to sell hemp products that are not approved by the FDA or part of the state’s medical marijuana program. Some law enforcement agencies are already enforcing the opinion.
You can hardly step foot in a Mid-South convenience store or vape shop without seeing THC-variant products. They have names like “blueberry yum-yum” or “Skywalker OG” and advertise chemicals like Delta 8 THC or 11-Hydroxy THC, which can provide similar effects to marijuana.
South of the state line, though, those products may soon be off the shelves.
“In these gas station products, they are coming in from out of state, and there is very little testing on them,” Zack Wilson, a medical marijuana cultivator, told FOX13.
Wilson explained the boom in gas station hemp products, stating that they essentially exploit a loophole in how THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, is regulated.
“Basically, they let the lid off Pandora’s box, and it’s too late now,” he said.
Attorney General Lynn Fitch published an opinion on such products last month, writing that hemp products without FDA approval may not be sold in the state. Some Mississippi law enforcement agencies are already taking action.
The Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement it warned all convenience stores in the unincorporated part of the county of the AG’s opinion and warned that those who continue to sell such products will face felony charges.
“They did not go through the legislative process,” Charles Couey, president of the Southern Hemp Coalition of Mississippi, said. “No law has changed in the state. I think this is more of a scare tactic.”
Couey owns a CBD store in Southaven and has been pushing for hemp reform in the state. He told FOX13 if enforced, Fitch’s opinion would ban all hemp products because none are FDA approved.
That includes the CBD products sold in his store, which he said do not get users high or include any THC.
He said the unregulated products sold at gas stations and vape stores can be risky and advocates for regulation instead of a blanket ban.
“Their concerns are our concerns as well because there is bad product on the market,” he said. “There are bad players on the market. But you know why that exists? Because there is no regulation.”
The DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office told FOX13 it had not issued warnings to stores or begun taking action against them.
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