Don’t hurry to hem in hemp in Iowa

Iowa House members this week voted to put tight restriction on “consumable hemp” products, including seltzer drinks containing different levels of THC, the substance that causes a “high.”

Currently, the drinks pack varying THC potency, including 5 milligrams and 10 mg, along with some stronger brands. The House bill, HF 2605, would limit individual drinks to 4 mg and no more than 10 mg per package. The bill also limits purchases to people over 21.

We fully support the age limit for purchase. There’s no good argument for selling these products to teenagers, which is legal under current law.

We’re less supportive of the rest of the bill, which denies adults access to products that we see as no worse than the potent alcoholic drinks the state already allows.

If polls are to be believed, a majority of Iowans support legalization of marijuana for recreational purchases. And support has been growing each year. But Republicans who control the Legislature and Gov. Kim Reynolds have flatly opposed that possibility.

Hemp drinks took advantage of a loophole in the 2018 Iowa Hemp Act, which legalized consumable hemp products. Lawmakers have been caught flat-footed by the availability of drinks containing THC.

“In the legislation we passed, there were no provisions for age requirements, precisely because we did not believe, or have any idea, that there would be a need, since we had limited the THC,” said Rep. Steve Holt, R-Denison, who spearheaded the drive for new limits. “We were not approving THC to be used in intoxicating products or we would have had age restrictions.”

Holt calls the hemp industry in Iowa is like the “wild west.”

Placing strict limits on hemp consumables likely will severely damage the state’s hemp consumables industry, which has been raking in revenue from the popular products. That will mean the loss of investments and jobs in the name of continuing Iowa’s adherence to the outdated war on drugs.

And the wild west is already here. Marijuana is legal for recreational use in Illinois and Missouri. Illinois’ recreational marijuana recorded a record $1.6 billion in sales last year. No doubt a chunk of that money came from Iowans crossing the Mississippi. By early next year, Minnesota’s legal marijuana industry will be up and running. Iowans who enjoy hemp drinks will simply take their dollars elsewhere.

It would be smarter for Iowa lawmakers to set the age limit and see what happens during the next year. If the need for THC limits emerges, it can be addressed in 2025. But we know all too well how smart rarely enters the equation when it comes to cracking down on drugs.

(319) 398-8262; editorial@thegazette.com