Hemp Consumer Products Act passes Illinois Senate
House Bill 4293, also known as the Hemp Consumer Products Act, passed the Illinois Senate today with a vote of 54-1 (and passed the House 105-0 with one present vote on April 15). The Hemp Consumer Products Act includes new hemp definitions, regulations, taxes, licensing, civil penalties, and provisions that require hemp and hemp-derived businesses to follow laws set forth in the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Act and the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act.
HB4293 has arrived back in the House for concurrence on the amendments added while in the Senate, including the Hemp Consumer Products Act. If the House concurs with the new amendments, HB4293 is then sent to the Governor. If the House refused to concur, the bill is sent back to the Senate, where the Senate can recede from the amendments, in which the bill is sent to the Governor. If the Senate refused to recede the amendments, a conference committee will be appointed to recommend a compromise version of the bill. If both houses agree with the compromise version, the bill is sent to the Governor.
One of the most significant definition changes in the amendment is for Tetrahydrocannabinol (or THC), which would be defined as “any naturally occurring or synthetic tetrahydrocannabinol, including its salts, isomers, and salts of isomers whenever the existence of such salts, isomers, and salts of isomers is possible within the specific chemical designation and any preparation, mixture, or substance containing, or mixed or infused with, any detectable amount of tetrahydrocannabinol or tetrahydrocannabolic acid, including, but not limited to, delta-8-tetrahydrocannabinol, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, delta-10-tetrahydrocannabinol, tetrahydrocannabolic acid, tetrahydrocannabipherol, or hexahydrocannabinol, however derived, or any other substance determined to have similar intoxicating effects on the mind or body by the Department. For the purposes of this definition, ‘isomer’ means the optical, position, and geometric isomers.”
Another significant definition addition includes “Industrial hemp processor,” which “means any entity that processes or handles industrial hemp into a final product not intended for human or animal consumption that is registered with the Department. ‘Industrial hemp processor’ includes, until the availability of a hemp consumer product processor license under the Hemp Consumer Product Act, any entity that processes or handles industrial hemp. ‘Industrial Hemp product’ means any finished product made or derived from industrial hemp that is not intended for human or animal consumption by any means.”
For more details on other provisions, click here to read the original article.
Opponents of the Hemp Consumer Products Act claim the amendment contains significant technical errors and would create a ban on all non-intoxicating CBD products, animal CBD products, and cosmetic products, such as hand lotions and shampoos, and would regulate the hemp industry out of existence by forcing hundreds of legal businesses to shut down, eliminating thousands of jobs.
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