Kentucky Bill Proposing To Ban Delta-8 Products Could Cost The State Billions Of Dollars

By Jelena Martinovic

The Kentucky legislature is seeking to ban all forms of “intoxicating products” made from industrial hemp, such as delta-8 THC, a form of THC distinguished from the more common delta-9 THC found in cannabis plants, Hemp Today writes.

According to a bill proposed this week, smokable hemp would also be prohibited by the law — in the form of cigarettes or cigars — as well as smokeless products including chew or dip, whole hemp buds, hemp teas and ground hemp flowers and leaves.

RELATED: Hemp Industries Association Urges Regulation, Not Prohibition, Of Delta-8 THC

The legislation, which expands existing language in the state’s law, is also designed to outlaw other hemp-derived minor cannabinoids like delta-10 THC, THC-O, and THC-P,  as per an unofficial copy of the proposal.

While hemp stakeholders in the Bluegrass State have been interpreting the 2018 Farm Bill to their favor, claiming that delta-8 THC is legal under the legislation’s provisions, regulators have pushed back, emphasizing that the compound is not naturally derived from the hemp plant.

RELATED: R.I.P. Delta-8 THC: Why States And DEA Want It Banned

The Kentucky Hemp Association highlighted that a ban on delta-8 THC would result in the loss of potentially billions of dollars by Kentucky’s cannabis economy, including growers, producers and retail operators.

This article originally appeared on Benzinga and has been reposted with permission.