(Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)
As part of the 2018 U.S. federal farm bill, Congress unintentionally legalized intoxicating hemp-derived products such as Delta-8 which have flourished in hemp and smoke shops across the country.
The retail sale of those products helped the industry reach more than $10 billion overall in sales in Florida in 2022, according to a 2023 analysis from Whitney Economics.
In the intervening years, a number of states have passed legislation to regulate their hemp markets, including the Florida Legislature in 2024. But after hemp entrepreneurs cautioned that the legislation would devastate their industry, Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed the bill last June.
With more hemp legislation likely to come before the Legislature when it convenes next week in its regular 60-day session, Florida Speaker of the House Daniel Perez announced Wednesday that he is creating a “combined workgroup” on hemp consisting of 24 members from two separate committees — 12 from the Industries & Professional Activities Subcommittee and 12 from the Housing, Agriculture & Tourism Subcommittee. Panhandle area Republican Michelle Salzman will serve as manager.
“The workgroup will focus on gaining knowledge related to hemp and the hemp industry, and will invite experts, regulators, and industry leaders to share the full range of perspectives and opinions,” Perez said in a memo to House members.
“The workgroup will not consider legislation or specific policy proposals nor will it be a forum for generic public testimony. Those activities are reserved for formal House committee meetings. Instead, the workgroup’s goal will be to gain knowledge and understanding of the subject matter and, at the conclusion of its work, the workgroup will identify other information or resources that it believes would be beneficial to assist Members in working through this issue. The workgroup’s exploration of this issue should be thorough and balanced.”
Following DeSantis’ veto of the hemp bill last year, many in the industry collectively worked to raise campaign cash to help fund the governor’s efforts to defeat Amendment 3. That was the proposed state constitutional amendment that would have legalized recreational cannabis for adults 21 years and older.
In his memo, Perez said that because of “the tendency of lobbyists and advocates to insinuate secret meetings,” he wanted to be crystal clear that “there are no signals being sent here.”
“House Leadership has not adopted any position on this issue nor are we laying the predicate to do so in the future,” he wrote in his memo. “We are not endorsing any particular bill, position, industry, or perspective. How — or even whether — we proceed with legislation on this issue this Session will be determined by all of you.”
Dialog welcome
The U.S. Hemp Roundtable, a national business advocacy organization, told the Phoenix that they welcome a dialogue.
“We appreciate Speaker Perez for establishing this workgroup and for creating a forum where lawmakers can gain a deeper understanding of the economic, agricultural, and consumer impact of hemp regulation,” said Kerry Hinkle, director of membership and public affairs with the organization. “We look forward to engaging with the Legislature to ensure that any future policies support a fair, science-based regulatory framework that protects consumers while fostering industry growth.”
The Phoenix reported on Tuesday about one of those proposed hemp bills that has been filed this session and includes a number of restrictions for the industry.
“This bill would ban the vast majority of hemp products on the market and implement excessively burdensome marketing and packaging rules that harm legitimate hemp businesses,” Hinkle told the Phoenix.
The House hemp workgroup is scheduled to meet for a duration of seven days, beginning next Monday, March 3.
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