On Wednesday, November 10, Missouri Hemp Trade Association issued an open letter to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Section for Medical Marijuana Regulation regarding recently released new draft rules for licensed medical marijuana dispensary operations in Missouri.
The proposed rule addition at the heart of the association’s call reads, “(R) Dispensary facilities may not sell any product that contains cannabinoids created through chemical conversion of other compounds.”
Missouri Hemp Trade Association Chairman, Tyler Morgan, addresses the rule, and its consequences in the letter below.
On behalf of the Missouri Hemp Trade Association, we would like to submit the following in regard to the Proposed rule changes for 19 CSR 30-95.080 Dispensary Facility. (R)
We feel that the market overall needs to be safe and that we also need to be progressive as we establish the cannabis industry in Missouri.
We feel that products on the shelves should be backed by 3rd party testing and our intent is to support the overall development of the industry and see it thrive.
We are concerned about supporting the retail brands that are growing here in Missouri and maintaining a competitive position in the national market.
Regarding Delta 8 derived from CBD in Hemp, we want to see the continued support that the market has already provided.
We are concerned that Item (R) as proposed is moving the needle in the opposite direction for all sides of the industry and doesn’t directly address synthetic cannabinoids that are produced from non-cannabis materials.
The federal definition of hemp under the farm bill is “the plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part of that plant, including the seeds thereof and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers, whether growing or not, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol [(Delta 9 -THC)] concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis.” 7 U.S.C. 1639o(1).
DEA Chief of Intergovernmental Affair Sean Mitchell was asked flatly whether the agency considered delta-8 THC illegal.
He said, “what I want to say, and I’ll be very, very deliberate and clear, at this time—I repeat again, at this time—per the Farm Bill, the only thing that is a controlled substance is delta-9 THC greater than 0.3 percent on a dry-weight basis.”
Delta 8 THC and Delta 9 THC and all cannabinoids are an isomer or other chemical break down of another natural cannabinoid. Isomers are protected in the definition of hemp.
The DEA has also been clear that Synthetic Cannabinoids produced from non-cannabis materials are considered schedule 1 under the Controlled Substance Act. We support this position.
With all this in mind, we propose the following substitution for the proposed rule 19 CSR 30-95.080 Dispensary Facility. (R) and purposely side the definition of publicly marketable product from Missouri’s hemp program.
(R) Dispensary facilities may not sell any product that contains synthetic cannabinoids created through chemical conversion of other compounds that are synthetically produced from non-cannabis materials and considered schedule 1 under the CSA. Dispensary facilities may sell products that contain cannabinoids from hemp as defined under section 195.740 of Title XII. (10) “Publicly marketable product”, any nonviable hemp material, including seed, stem, root, leaf, or floral material, that contains no material with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration exceeding three-tenths of one percent on a dry weight basis. XII RSMo 195.740(10).
Sincerely,
Missouri Hemp Trade Association, Tyler Morgan, Chairman
