While hemp, the non-psychoactive relative of cannabis, has levels of the chemical compound CBD that do not come under the state’s marijuana law, when it is processed for various products, small concentrations of THC can accumulate. The new hemp and cannabis law creates a new version of “moderate-THC hemp product” and puts restrictions on sales of hemp with THC levels between half a milligram and 5 milligrams.
On Jan. 1 the new law will require moderate-THC hemp products to be sold in licensed cannabis companies or people licensed by the Department of Consumer Protection.
“All hemp growers make these products,” said state Rep. David Rutigliano of Trumbull, a ranking Republican on the legislative General Law Committee, where the new law originated. “When hemp is harvested there is no THC, but when it gets processed and can get an intoxicating property. If it is hemp-derived THC, the legislature says it needs to be segregated and regulated.”
Last month, smoke shop owners in the state filed a federal lawsuit against Attorney General William Tong charging that a redefinition of hemp statutes in Connecticut violates federal law because it conflicted with a 2018 federal legalization of hemp.
