CLIMAX, N.C. (AP) North Carolina is considering a ban on smokable hemp, a product thats exploding along with the health craze surrounding a compound in the plant known as CBD.
Besides federal regulations laid out in the Hemp Farming Act of 2018, the Food and Drug Administration has no additional regulations on smokable hemp, leaving states to figure out how to govern it themselves.
This year, Indiana, Louisiana and Texas banned smokable hemp entirely, while Kansas banned products including hemp cigarettes and cigars. Tennessee prohibited smokable hemp sales to minors.
North Carolinas House is considering a smokable hemp ban after it recently passed the state Senate.
The legislation focuses primarily on expanding the states pilot hemp growing program, which has more than 1,000 licensed hemp growers and 600 registered hemp processors, to position it as a leader in the burgeoning industry. The bill would place more regulations on hemp but also create a hemp licensing commission and establish a fund for regulation, testing and marketing.
North Carolina law enforcement wants the ban, saying officers have no way of distinguishing smokable hemp from marijuana.
Hemp and marijuana are both cannabis plants. Dried, smokable hemp looks and smells the same as marijuana but contains less than 0.3% of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the compound that gives marijuana its high. Hemp has cannabidiol, or CBD, which many believe helps with pain, anxiety and inflammation, though theres limited scientific research to support those claims.
Its turning up in products ranging from lotions and cosmetics to diet pills and juices.
The proposed ban would impose a civil penalty of up to $2,500 for anyone who manufactures, sells or possesses smokable hemp.
