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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nThe proposal would restrict the amount of THC per bottle or cans to no more than 5 milligrams. It would ban those drinks being sold at any locations other than ones already licensed to sell alcoholic beverages, adding additional prohibitions and requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLiquor stores and restaurants that would like to sell these products, they have come to us and asked us to provide some regulations so that they know that the products that they are selling have gone through the rigor of the testing and will all be held to the same standards,\u201d Burton said in introducing the bill to the Senate Agriculture Committee on Monday afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But that provision received some pushback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRequiring us to carry a liquor license when we\u2019re a non-alcoholic bottle shop kind of goes against what we built,\u201d said Caitlyn Smith, co-owner of Herban Flow in St. Petersburg, which bills itself as Florida\u2019s first non-alcoholic bottle shop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her husband and co-founder, Michael Smith, said that he is five years\u2019 sober and the last thing that he wants is for his store to be regulated as a liquor store when it isn\u2019t one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not about how high you can get. That THC drink is really just about having a nice social buzz and being able to be part of the party again,\u201d he said, adding that the provision is \u201ctruly just killing small business.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018They look like you and they look like me\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, those in the liquor industry support the proposal to regulate hemp-infused drinks like alcohol.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Jared Ross with the Florida Beer Wholesalers Association said that many but not all of his members have begun selling hemp-infused drinks. \u201cWe have a system in place with alcohol that takes public safety into consideration, and \u2026 we would like to see this treated similar to alcohol, and that\u2019s why.\u201d Chas Bailes is CEO of ABC Fine Wine & Spirits, the largest liquor retailer in Florida, and supports Burton\u2019s bill. THC infused drinks are selling well everywhere in Florida, he said, and the demographic is everyone. \u201cThey look like you and they look like me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bailes added that while he hasn\u2019t consumed any of these drinks himself, he believes they affect people differently. \u201cTwo milligrams for me might mean five milligrams for you, \u201d he said. \u201cYou can\u2019t equate it to ounces of alcohol.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Scott Ashley, president of Wine & Spirits Distributors of Florida, said the only missing component of the bill is who pays for the regulation of hemp-derived drinks. \u201cThe alcohol excise tax is about $7.50 per gallon of spirits,\u201d he said. There has never been an untaxed recreational intoxicating beverage in the state of Florida in its history.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sen. Burton\u2019s bill would remove the existing requirement that hemp and hemp extract products be tested by an independent laboratory; instead, they would be tested at a certified medical marijuana testing lab (CMTL). The tests will determine whether the product meets the definition of hemp; that its labeling is accurate; and that the product is free from contaminants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Testimony heard earlier this month in a special House committee assigned to learn more about the hemp business in Florida revealed<\/a> that in fact many of the products tested by one CMTL in Lakeland found that the majority of products tested were much higher in THC concentration than the 0.3% federal limit for Delta-9 and contained large amounts of contaminants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That same lab owner, George Fernandez from Modern Canna Labs, repeated those statistics on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is marijuana masquerading as hemp,\u201d he declared. This is Sen. Burton\u2019s third year in a row leading an effort to regulate hemp products, which have exploded into the marketplace since the 2018 federal farm bill legalized them. The law didn\u2019t impose any regulations, so states have been passing their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Georgia<\/a> last week, lawmakers approved a ban on THC-infused drinks. Another measure would limit hemp products like Delta-8, although neither measure has made its way to the governor\u2019s office yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Florida Legislature passed hemp regulations last year, but Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed the bill. In his veto letter, he said<\/a> that while \u201ccommendable,\u201d the measure would have imposed \u201cdebilitating regulatory burdens on small businesses and almost certainly fail to achieve its purposes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Burton\u2019s bill is being fast-tracked this session, however. It has only one more stop scheduled in committee before hitting the Senate floor, after being passed unanimously in Agriculture Committee on Monday afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The bill would prohibit businesses and food establishments permitted to sell hemp or hemp extract from advertising in a manner visible to members of the public from any street, sidewalk, park, or other public place. Burton said that was something her co-sponsor, Jacksonville Democrat Tracie Davis, wanted to insert into the proposal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n