The House and Senate continue to trade volleys in an effort to regulate hemp sales in North Carolina, an industry that members of both chambers liken to the wild, wild West.
Tuesday morning, the House started moving a hemp-focused version of Senate Bill 328, which originally dealt with the safety of underground infrastructure. The revised bill would prohibit the sale of products derived from hemp to people who are 21 years old or younger.
It was one of two narrow hemp proposals moving through House committees Tuesday in an effort to put some regulations on a hemp industry that is, to this point, largely without rules. Both House proposals are much more limited than a bill the Senate passed last week banning the sales of products containing most cannabinoids, including CBD and delta-8.
"It was kind of a shot across the bow, get your rear end moving to send us something," Rep. Jeff McNeely, R-Iredell, told the N.C. Newsroom.
The bill to ban people under 21 years old from buying and possessing hemp products is a necessary first step, Rep. Reece Pyrtle, R-Rockingham, said in committee Tuesday.
"I'm hearing from law enforcement across this state, and they feel like they have their hands tied right now. We want to unloosen them just a little bit," Pyrtle said in the House Alcohol Beverage Control Committee.
Pyrtle also expressed concern that none of the other hemp-related proposals floating through legislative committees will pass both chambers before the legislature takes a scheduled break at the end of this week.
The House Rules Committee signed off on Senate Bill 328 later Tuesday. The bill is scheduled for a vote in the full House on Wednesday.
Hemp and marijuana both come from the cannabis plant. But hemp contains a maximum of 0.3% of THC, the ingredient that helps someone get high.
The hemp industry started to take off after the 2018 Farm Act allowed farmers to grow the crop on an industrial scale for the first time in decades.
Also Tuesday, McNeely tweaked a bill he introduced seeking to regulate kratom to include some hemp regulations.
The updated version of House Bill 468 prevents anyone younger than 21 years old from buying or possessing hemp products or kratom. It also requires schools to ban those products.
"I put that out there while we're still manipulating and working and choosing what we're going to do with (House Bill) 607, our actual hemp bill," McNeely told the N.C. Newsroom.
McNeely added that law enforcement officers have asked for the age prohibition while local school officials have asked for the ban on school grounds.
It is most likely, McNeely said, that House Bill 607 will receive further consideration during the short session. That bill proposes requiring people selling hemp products to have those products tested, requires childproof packaging and prohibits manufacturers from marketing their products by mimicking popular candy or snacks, among other provisions.
"I feel like it's going to be short session before it picks up pace, but I pray it's going to get done," McNeely said.
