What’s Going On with the Proposed D8 Ban in Tennessee?

CIF | March 31, 2022

Summary of HB 1927 / SB 1904 (aka bill to ban Delta-8):
In Tennessee, companion bills House Bill 1927 (HB 1927) and Senate Bill 1904 (SB 1904) seek to criminalize Delta 8 THC and other cannabinoids made from CBD extracted from hemp. If the bills become law, they will ban Delta 8 THC, Delta 10 THC, and create a Total THC limit post-harvest on all hemp products in Tennessee.

Current status of HB 1927 / SB 1904

March 30, 2022…
On Wednesday, 3/30/22, the Delta 8 ban was passed by subcommittees in both the Tennessee House & Senate. While this is an urgent concern, it does not mean that the Delta-8 Ban is in effect.
Both bills passing the subcommittee does not mean the Ban is in effect! There are several more steps for the bills to become law!

What are the next steps for the bills to become law?

Over the next several weeks, the bills have to pass through multiple committees in both the House & Senate before the bills go to the House floor and Senate floor for a vote by all members.

Next Steps in the House:

House Bill 1927 is now headed to the House Criminal Justice Committee, where it will be debated and could either fail outright, be amended, or pass in its current form. (Note that we’re supporting an amendment to regulate rather than criminalize Delta 8. We’ll get back to this point in a moment).

If HB 1927 passes through the Criminal Justice Committee, it will move on to the House Budget Subcommittee, where the House and Senate finance chairs will decide whether or not to fund the bill. This resolution will take at least 3 weeks. If it’s funded, it will then have to get approved by the House Full Finance Committee.

If HB 1927 passes full finance, it will move along to the House Calendar and Rules committee. This committee does not just schedule when the bill will reach the floor for debate, it also debates the merits of the bill and decides whether to kill the bill or pass it along to the House floor for a vote by all members.

If HB 1927 makes it to the House floor, it will be voted on by all 99 members of the House. It will need 50 votes to pass.

Next Steps in the Senate:

Senate Bill 1904 has less committee stops than its companion bill. SB 1904 is headed to the full Senate Finance Committee, where the finance chairs and the governor will all decide whether or not to fund the bill.

If HB 1904 passes through the finance committee, it will move onto the Senate floor for all members to vote on it.

If the bill makes it to the Senate floor, it will be voted on by all 33 members and need 17 votes to pass.

What happens if both HB 1927 and SB 1904 pass?

If the bills pass in both the House and Senate, it will be typed on a heavy-weight paper and presented to the Governor. The Governor can either sign the bill into law or veto the bill. If the Governor doesn’t take action within 10 days, the bill automatically becomes a law without his signature.

There’s still time to stop the Ban & save Delta 8 in Tennessee!
While HB 1927 / SB 1904 advanced through subcommittees in both the House and Senate, the fight to save Delta 8 and other hemp derived cannabinoids is far from over!

What we’re doing at Consider It Flowers:

We’re supporting an amendment that would regulate packaging and testing standards for Delta 8 products and hemp derived cannabinoids instead of criminalizing them. We’re hopeful that the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee will move forward with the amendment.

We’ve joined Cultivate Tennessee, a new non-profit trade association dedicated to supporting the cannabis industry in Tennessee. Cultivate Tennessee has engaged a powerful lobbying firm, Bass, Berry, and Simms, as an ally in the fight at hand.

We are members of TGC (Tennessee Growers Coalition), a pro-hemp and cannabis PAC in Tennessee. We’re meeting tomorrow afternoon, Friday April 1, 202 to discuss the next steps and strategy to organize our industry’s efforts moving forward.

Continuing Business as Usual:

While Delta-8 is in severe danger, there is no ban currently in effect. We will continue to deliver certified third party lab tested Delta-8 and other premium hemp derived cannabinoid products to consumers who are age 21 and older.

What you can do to help:

Contact your legislators:
It’s possible that the bills to Ban Delta 8 will advance to the full House and Senate floors for all legislative members to vote on the Ban. Let’s work together to contact every legislator and show massive public support for cannabis in Tennessee.

Please call or email your legislator and let them know that you do not support the Ban on Delta 8. You can also encourage your representative to speak with their colleagues on the committees.

Find your legislators at: https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/Apps/fmlv3/lookup.aspx

For help with what to say, check out this link: https://tngrowerscoalition.com/hemp-delta-8-product-safety-bill

Become a member of Cultivate Tennessee:
Cultivate Tennessee is a non-profit trade association dedicated to supporting the cannabis industry in Tennessee. Cultivate Tennessee is organizing a massive lobbying effort to defeat harmful legislation that would ban Delta-8, close thousands of businesses, and deprive countless consumers.

Legislative action involves real cost. If you have the means to do so, please become a member of Cultivate Tennessee. Your annual membership will go directly to support this effort and the campaigns to come for smart cannabis legislation in Tennessee.

Your membership includes immediate participation in the Cultivate Tennessee slack channel, where you’ll have access to live updates on all current cannabis bills and how to stay supportive through the process.

Become a member now: https://www.saved8.com/