GOP-Led Bill Banning Sale Of Delta-8 And Other Unregulated Hemp Products Reaches Gov. Kristi Noem's Desk

South Dakota lawmakers sent a bill banning the sale of unregulated hemp products to Governor Kristi Noem's (R) desk on Wednesday.

House Bill 1125 would "prohibit the chemical modification or conversion of industrial hemp and the sale or distribution of chemically modified or converted industrial hemp and to provide a penalty therefore."

Under this measure, the sale of all Delta-8, Delta-10, THC-O, HHC and THC-P products and other unregulated THC products would be illegal and treated as a Class 2 misdemeanor.

The Bill's Rocky Road

The measure underwent several amendments as it moved through Senate and House committees.

The bill from Rep. Brian Mulder (R) was previously approved in the House with a 69-0 vote and was sent to the Senate. The measure had modifications on the House floor to target only products made from lab-grown chemicals, allowing products with Delta-8 or Delta-10 THC. Rep. Oren Lesmeister (D) argued that forbidding the sale of products with naturally occurring chemicals would negatively impact small business owners and hemp growers, wrote South Dakota Search Light.

The House approved Lesmeister's amendment and then advanced HB 1125 in a unanimous vote. However, in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee last week, Sen. Brent Hoffman (R) proposed an amendment to place back the ban like it was in the original version of the bill. The amendment was adopted. Senate sent the bill back to the House for another review and the lawmakers approved. The bill is now on the governor's desk awaiting her signature.

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