30-40 Times Higher THC Levels Than Permitted Found In Mississippi Weed Products, GOP Rep. Will Address Situation

Steep Hill, the first licensed medical marijuana testing lab in Mississippi analyzed some over-the-counter cannabis products, revealing that some of them contain THC above federal limits.

What happened: Scientists at Steep Hill found out that some products had 30 to 40 times the amount of THC allowed under the 2018 Farm Bill.

The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 effectively legalized hemp and hemp-derived products on the federal level. Under the bill, hemp is considered to have only 0.3% delta 9 THC.

The product sold around Rankin County, however, had more THC than that, even though recreational cannabis is not legal in the state.

“This is a lot higher levels than we expected,” said Cliff Osbon, president and co-founder of Steep Hil. according to MPB. “They also had edibles or gummies for sale and some of those were available in strengths and quantities greater than a person with a medical marijuana card in Mississippi can go buy at a legal dispensary.”

The tested products also contained eight pesticides, some at 20 times the allowed level of medical marijuana.

Why it matters: Neither of these products would satisfy the current state law.

Osbon said that the tested products included pre-rolls, vapes and edible gummies, but he didn’t want to share specific brand names, products or store locations, reported Clarion Ledger.

"We in no way want to encourage anyone who sees this information to go out and access those products because of their questionable safety," he said. "While merchants may have been told that these products are safe, legal and tested and may have been told they are exempt from the Farm Bill, our testing results call that into question."

Kelly Williams, founder and CEO of medical marijuana dispensary Kelly's Green located in Rankin County expressed shock and concern at the recent press conference. 

"These findings undermine patient access to safe and effective medicine, which in-turn undermines the entire medical marijuana program," Williams said. "There are many Mississippians that have devoted their lives to supporting this program … it undermines their efforts as well."

Williams further stressed the concern about products not having age restrictions.

What’s next: Rep. Lee Yancey (R), who chairs the House Drug Policy Committee, and who has been working with the medical marijuana bill's lead sponsor, Sen. Kevin Blackwell said he plans to introduce a bill next year that will either regulate these products or prohibit them. 

“Any bill that comes forward, if we even allow these products to continue to be sold, would require them to be tested and make sure there's no pesticides or too much THC,” Yancey said. “The public deserves to know that the products that they buy are safe.”

Yancey continued, “This is just a wake up call for all of us. These findings confirm that there is illegal activity going on. There are people selling drugs to minors in gas stations all across our state, and we're going to do something about it.”

See Also: Medical Marijuana Dispensary Owner Sues Mississippi Over Ad Ban, Arguing First Amendment Violation

Photo: Benzinga edit with images by Sergei Tokmakov, Esq. https://Terms.Law from Pixabay, and WikimediaImages from Pixabay