Missouri’s Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) has called for nearly $1m in funding to support enforcement of a controversial ban on hemp.
Last month, the state’s governor, Mike Parson,’s efforts to ban intoxicating hemp products were largely put on hold or entirely rolled back, with regulators announcing that products containing hemp-derived THC would no longer come under a blanket ban.
Instead, enforcement agencies are now set to focus on identifying misbranded products, specifically those that could pose a risk to minors.
In a similar move to California’s governor Gavin Newsom, Parson issues an executive order on August 01 in an effort to ban intoxicating hemp.
In response to pushback from the Missouri Hemp Trade Association, which argued that the bill conflicted with state law stipulating that hemp products cannot be considered adulterated due to their hemp content and requested a temporary restraining order, regulators agreed to shift the focus of the ban, which went into effect on September 01.
Despite this, the Missouri DHSS has requested $877,000 from the state in order to fund the hiring of inspectors and attorneys to enforce the executive order.
This move reflects a growing trend across the US as states move to regulate intoxicating hemp substances to negate the absence of federal regulation.
These new efforts to clamp down on the flourishing grey market often overreach, and place non-intoxicating hemp businesses under threat.
