A bill tightening hemp regulations is heading to the governor. Some local businesses say it will shut them down. – The Virginian-Pilot

Savana Griffith wakes up every day worried about her hemp business.

She loves helping her customers and running her shop: The Hemp Spectrum, in Virginia Beach. But she’s scared recent legislation will spell its doom.

“We put our whole life savings into this,” Griffith said. “We’ve been doing things the right way and now they’re going to put us out of business and into debt.”

The General Assembly recently passed a bill that would tighten regulations on hemp products. Supporters say it would protect children from accidental ingestion and keep consumers informed. Others argue it would have the opposite effect — shuttering shops and pushing customers to seek questionable products from the black market.

“It feels like a stab in the gut; it would knock out 90% of the products in our store,” said Griffith, whose shop sells a mix of items, including teas, salves and edibles.

If signed into law, the bill would require businesses that sell industrial hemp extract, or food containing it, to obtain a permit from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. It also would create new rules for labels and packaging, and require a bittering agent be added to topical products.

Its most controversial provision, however, states that edible hemp products could only contain up to two milligrams of THC (the component that can produce a high) per container.

Those who violate the bill could be hit with a Class 1 misdemeanor for certain violations or a range of civil penalties up to $10,000 each day a violation occurs.

Hemp and cannabis-related businesses have proliferated across the state in the past few years, after a federal farm bill in 2018 legalized the regulated production of hemp and the state decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana in 2020.

Hemp and marijuana come from the cannabis plant, but hemp only contains 0.3% or less THC.

Sen. Emmett Hanger, who introduced the bill in the Senate, told a legislative committee it would help keep children safe.

“There’s a lady facing a murder charge because she let her child die from eating this candy-like substance,” said the Republican based in the Shenandoah Valley. “It’s a public safety issue.”

A Spotsylvania mother is facing felony murder and child neglect charges related to the accidental death last year of her 4-year-old son. Toxicology results showed the child had extremely high levels of THC in his system, and authorities believe he ate a large amount of gummy candies containing the chemical, the Associated Press reported. The mother has stated she was unaware the gummies contained THC.

Since 2012, the Virginia Department of Health has recorded two deaths involving cannabis products among those under 18. Both were in 2022, and one also involved fentanyl.

Four health organizations are calling on Gov. Glenn Youngkin to sign the bill, including the Medical Society of Virginia, American Academy of Pediatrics, Virginia College of Emergency Physicians and the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association.

“(It is) especially important to ensure the well-being of children, many of whom have been poisoned after accessing and ingesting unregulated delta-8-THC, delta-9-THC, and other synthetic marijuana-like products,” the groups wrote in a joint letter Friday.

Griffith said no one in the hemp industry wants children to be harmed — but she doesn’t believe the bill would protect kids.

Customers will turn to the internet or other sectors of the black market if they can’t find the products in stores, she said.

“(Legislators) should be talking about consumer education and encouraging parents to lock away their stash because whether they get it from a shop or from the black market, the issue is that their kid has access to the product,” she said.

Other business owners in Hampton Roads have concerns.

Melissa Stephenson, owner of CBD Chesapeake, said the two milligram cap would ban her most popular products.

“I would say the top three things people come in the store looking for help with are pain, sleep and anxiety,” she said, adding many customers find relief from full-spectrum items, which contain THC and a range of other cannabinoids.

Stephenson said her average full-spectrum product contains between 25 to 100 milligrams of THC per container. She doesn’t believe customers would get any relief from products if the cap goes into effect.

“I think most of us would agree that some regulation is important,” she said. “But this bill on the governor’s desk would wipe out small hemp businesses and Virginia’s hemp farms.”

Brad Wynne, a hemp grower and processor in Virginia Beach, agreed that the majority of hemp businesses in the state will close if the bill is signed into law.

These closures won’t just impact business owners, he said.

“It’s not the best feeling in the world because, I mean, I’ve got employees, I’ve got kids, my employees have kids,” he said. “And I hire full time.”

Wynne is the chief executive officer of Veg Out Organics, which offers a range of organic hemp products, including a skin care line with hemp extract.

The Virginia Cannabis Association sent a letter to Youngkin this week warning that more than 370 businesses across the state could close if the legislation is approved. The group offered to work with the governor on amendments to the bill that would address their concerns.

Virginia’s changing laws on hemp and marijuana have left many frustrated.

Although the state made it legal for individuals to grow or possess small amounts of marijuana in 2020, the General Assembly has been unable to pass legislation that creates a legal retail market for selling it.

Peter Seaborn, assistant professor of commerce at the University of Virginia, said the changing rules and various distinctions between different types of cannabis products — in the commonwealth and nationwide — have “absolutely” created confusion.

“It is difficult for the most well-meaning citizen, voter, elected official, or police officer to understand,” he said. “Anyone in any state right now is really having to sort through a lot of differing rules and regulations.”

Seaborn added uncertainty inhibits business growth.

“People are always going to be more cautious when they don’t know what the landscape is going to look like,” he said. “You aren’t going to invest in a big processing facility or some sort of big product brand building campaign as a hemp producer today in Virginia because July 1 your product could be off the shelves.”

Staff writer Trevor Metcalfe contributed.

Katie King, katie.king@virginiamedia.com