Federal hemp restrictions could pull products from Georgia store shelves

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — A new federal hemp law set to take effect in 58 days could force many hemp-derived products off store shelves, according to business owners who say they are preparing for the change.

The new restrictions would limit the amount of THC allowed in finished products and change which cannabinoids qualify as legal hemp. Under current federal law, hemp is defined in part by a limit on delta-9 THC. The new law will use a total-THC standard and impose a strict limit on the amount of THC in finished products.

The law is set to take effect Dec. 11.

Mehrnush Saadat, a former attorney, founded Soberish, a nonalcoholic bottle shop and cannabis boutique with locations in Kirkwood and Serenbe, a neighborhood in Chattahoochee Hills. The store sells hemp-derived products including seltzers, gummies and oils, as well as mocktails and mixers.

Saadat said the upcoming federal ban could force the business to rethink much of its inventory.

“Almost everything in here would not be able to be sold. So we will have to see. I feel like a lot of what we’re hearing from our customers is that they will come stock up right before it happens,” Saadat said.

Saadat said the changes could affect a wide range of products, including some that contain CBD and THC.

“We have this crossroads now where the federal government instituted into the federal spending bill, they threw in a clause to ban all of hemp-based THC. The problem with that is the way that the code is written it will eliminate CBD as well. And so many people rely on CBD for anxiety, for pain management. A lot of people with MS rely on that to help their neuro-stability,” Saadat said.

Saadat said she is in favor of additional regulation of the products, but not an outright ban.

“I am all for better regulation of this product. I think that whether it’s federally or states can come up with certain regulatory limitations to the quantity of THC. But to outright ban it is going to affect so many people. Whether people have found sobriety from consuming THC products or whether people actually need this for pain management in some way,” Saadat said.

Saadat said many of her customers are women, including those in the years before and during menopause.

She said she worries that restricting access to these products will not necessarily stop people from seeking them out.

“I worry that we then fall back into the black-market ways of old or the issue of people traveling state lines to get what they need in legal states and that just becomes a bigger problem as well across the board. Then people are doing things they shouldn’t be doing to have access to a thing that they should have access to,” Saadat said.

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr has previously joined other attorneys general in calling for federal action to restrict intoxicating hemp-derived THC products. Atlanta News First reached out to Carr’s office for comment and is waiting to hear back.

Opponents of the new restrictions are urging consumers to contact their representatives to push for a different approach. You can find out how to contact your local representatives and more information on the movement to keep the products on shelves here.