OKLAHOMA CITY — A bill seeking to close a legal loophole that has made it possible for children to access edible products infused with hemp-derived THC advanced through an Oklahoma Senate committee Wednesday.
Senate Bill 1980 relates to products containing “delta-8” and “delta-10” THC, sold by retailers including vape shops and convenience stores.
Marijuana and hemp are two different varieties of the cannabis plant. Federal regulations stipulate that cannabis plants containing greater than 0.3% delta-9 THC should be classified as marijuana.
In addition to being a source of cannabidiol — or CBD — which has medicinal value, hemp plants are used to produce a variety of products such as paper, textiles and biofuel. In recognition of the broad commercial applications of hemp, the U.S. Congress passed legislation in 2018 removing it from the category of “controlled substances” and making it legal to grow.
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While marijuana and hemp are the same plant (cannabis) federal law makes a distinction between marijuana, which is grown for high THC content, and hemp, defined by its low content. But since congress passed the 2018 farm bill authorizing the growing of hemp nationwide, there’s been an unforeseen consequence. People exploiting what they see as a loophole in the law have taken hemp, extracted a non-intoxicating compound called CBD and chemically altered it into various types of impairing THC. Chemically derived THC has wound up in candies, vape oils and other products sold in gas stations, convenience stores and online. At least 17 states have banned such products in the past year. Regulators in Michigan are considering rules that would allow processors to convert CBD into THC with written prior approval. They also would have to label their product as synthetic.
Since then, cultivators and processors have figured out how to chemically alter hemp to create intoxicating products with THC analogues that may be dangerous, especially for children, to consume.
SB 1980 seeks to address the loophole that allows Oklahomans to buy delta-8 and delta-10 THC products legally — without a medical marijuana patient license.
The bill would allow the state to regulate the processing, packaging and sale of products containing THC analogues derived from hemp. It would give the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority oversight of these hemp-derived THC products.
“This bill is an attempt to get a handle on the issue of hemp-derived cannabinoids that are spreading across the nation,” said the bill’s author, Sen. Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle. “Children are buying stuff that looks like candy in stores when it’s actually hemp-derived products that can get them high.”
Paxton asked Barrett Brown, chief of staff at the OMMA, to help explain provisions of SB 1980 during the Senate Business and Commerce Committee’s meeting Monday.
“The problem that we are trying to solve is that there is no state agency or law enforcement agency with clear … authority to regulate all of these products,” Brown said, “and so what we are attempting to do is in the future to include all of these hemp-derived cannabinoids in a more holistic manner to ensure that they’re all regulated in the state of Oklahoma.”
Brown allowed that the issue is complicated and “nuanced” by the interplay between federal and state law.
“I wouldn’t say that I’m currently confident (in the bill’s language). I would say that conversations are ongoing. We have specifically looped in the Attorney General’s Office and stakeholders who are working on it.”
The working bill passed through the committee on a 13-0 vote.
Kristie Edelen, managing director of the Oklahoma Center for Poison & Drug Information, said the agency would support any legislation that would help reduce overdose incidents, whether caused by medical marijuana products sold in dispensaries or hemp-derived products sold in other stores. She noted that in 2018, the year Oklahomans voted to make medical marijuana legal, there were 13 such incidents involving children younger than 5. In 2023, there were 260.
THC edibles such as infused candies, cookies and gummies can be especially dangerous for young children, as it can be easy to consume several “doses” at once, Edelen said. Parents or guardians should take care not to consume THC edibles in front of children, she said, and keep them in a secure lockbox.
“Obviously, I think regulation also would help to reduce the exposures we see,” she said.
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