Missouri regulators announced last week that they will not fully enforce Governor Mike Parson’s executive order to ban intoxicating hemp products, according to the Missouri Independent. The original order, signed on August 1, sought to ban products containing delta-8 THC and other hemp-derived intoxicating cannabinoids. However, officials now plan to focus enforcement efforts on products that may appeal to children, labeling them as “misbranded.”
Richard Moore, general counsel for the Department of Health and Senior Services, clarified the state’s stance in a letter, stating, “The Department has no intention at this time to embargo additional psychoactive cannabis products as adulterated. Within 30 days after referral to the Attorney General’s Office, the Department will release all currently embargoed products and remove all embargo tags.”
The decision follows a rejection of Gov. Parson’s executive order by Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, who argued that the emergency rules failed to meet state law criteria. Regulators now must submit rules for a hemp product ban as they would any other legal change. Earlier this month, Missouri also launched a joint task force to curb the spread of unlicensed psychoactive cannabis products.
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