Marijuana is legal for medical use in 37 states across the U.S. It is fully legal in many forms including medical, recreational, hemp and CBD usage in 19 states across the nation. There are several Florida senators who would like to have House Bill 679 come into effect. This bill would introduce more regulation for certain elements of the medical marijuana industry.
What is House Bill 679?
This new bill pushes for a stronger regulation with the medical marijuana industry in Florida. One of these changes includes disrupting lab testing companies from having financial interest with cannabis companies. This will stop the artificial inflation of THC content with lab test results, which is what customers look at the most when making a buying decision.
Regulate the New Delta-8 THC Derived From Hemp
One of the ‘loopholes’ that have been described by HB 679 is that there is no regulation on the sale of Cannabis containing Delta-8 THC. This is a different compound compared to the famous Delta-9 THC cannabinoid but still has similar but milder effects. The argument for HB 679, is that it wants to remove exploitation by sellers and protect consumers.
In the bill, it states that; Delta-8 would be prohibited to be sold to anyone under 21, that there would be no advertising towards children, prevention of licensed medical marijuana centers from selling licenses for profit, and creating evaluation procedures for new products.
Delta-8 has been labeled as a hemp product by some companies and according to the FDA, this has allegedly tricked consumers into believing that there would be no ‘euphoric’ effects. By 2021, the use of Delta-8 brought 661 calls to the poison control center with 39% of those regarding persons under the age of 18.
The Banning of Delta-8
Delta-8 has been restricted or banned in 18 states, including; Michigan, Utah, Alaska, Washington, Vermont, Colorado, Kentucky, Iowa, Connecticut, North Dakota, Arizona, Delaware, Arkansas, Montana, Rhode Island, Mississippi, Idaho, and New York.
Why is Delta-8 illegal in states where medical and even recreational marijuana is fully legal? This is because the Drug Enforcement Administration has stated that Delta-8 Tetrahydrocannabinol is a controlled substance. According to the DEA, this is due to the fact that Delta-8 is made from hemp CBD. Even so, Delta-8 is not outlawed by the United States Controlled Substances Act.
Growing Support of the Medical Marijuana Industry
Many people support the growing idea of the legalization of medical and recreational marijuana across the United States. In Florida, 76% of voters were in total support of the medical marijuana industry. 58% of adults who were polled support the expansion of access to medical marijuana. These voters who were surveyed want there to be complete legalization entirely, with use allowed recreationally for those over 21 and no imposing restrictions on THC content.
The recreational market for adult-use cannabis is said to make up 70%, with medical being 30%. With legalization in more states, both medical and recreational usage would undoubtedly grow. This is a viable market for helping the economy, state infrastructure, and potentially the United States as a whole if Cannabis was made federally legal. In fact, the proposed federal tax on legalized cannabis could be 3%. State taxes range for legal purchases of Cannabis from 7% – 37%.
Why Medical Marijuana is a Good Thing
Under this bill, there is a strong subsection stating that license renewals will only be allowed for practicing facilities if they follow a plethora of rules. One such rule is that strong diversity plans involving veterans and minorities must be presented by the company. The workforce must consist of minority persons or veterans, promoting and ensuring the involvement of people in ownership, management, and employment. The opening of a broader medical marijuana industry will promote more jobs and a healthier economy by engaging in a broadening workforce.
With this, comes the boom of several industries, as medical marijuana does not include just cannabis itself. It entails the entire Cannabis market of things like the King Palm pre-rolled cones that can be found throughout Florida and used to smoke medical cannabis. It will incorporate small businesses, big businesses, and upcoming businesses that want to offer thoroughly tested, high-quality medical marijuana and smoking accessories.
Author Bio: Jesus Sanchez An advocate for the healing effects of cannabis, and the economic benefits derived from it. Sanchez has grown up in California all his life, witnessing the positive effects legalization has had on his community, and himself. He helps many cannabis companies from all over the world with their online marketing efforts, accumulating millions of organic visitors for them.
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