Tennessee lawmakers redefine hemp, cannabinoids to ban THCA, delta-8 THC

Tennessee lawmakers approved sweeping changes to state law governing hemp and THC that effectively outlaw most hemp-derived products in the market.

That includes synthetic cannabinoids such as delta-8 THC as well as products marketed and sold as federally legal “THCA,” according to Nashville radio station WPLN.

The bill now awaits Republican Gov. Bill Lee’s signature.

Lee, an outspoken social conservative, is not expected to veto the bill.

Tennessee law enforcement has been seizing THCA products on the basis they’re actually marijuana goods.

Like other states without a regulated marijuana market, Tennessee has seen hemp growers and sellers flourish since the 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp production across the country.

Despite generating as much as $2 million a month in tax revenue for the state, the Tennessee hemp industry also has drawn negative attention from lawmakers, who call the status quo “the wild west.”

And so Tennessee is the latest state to adjust its laws to account for intoxicating hemp-derived products.

“We have a situation here in Tennessee where we are essentially dealing with unregulated recreational marijuana,” Republican state Sen. Richard Briggs, the bill’s sponsor, said, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel.

“We are not going to be a recreational marijuana state.”

In response, House Bill 1376, which passed the state Senate on a 23-9 vote last week, does the following:

The new law jeopardizes “hemp dispensaries” that have sprung up in Tennessee cities, merchants told Nashville TV station WKRN.