Federal THC Ban Delayed a Month

For those who have been following the never-ending saga of THC regulations at both the state and national level, you have probably heard that there have been a few updates recently. Now is a good time to discuss the latest news.

First, Congress passed and President Trump signed into law a bill that delays the start of the federal THC ban by one month—from November 12 to December 11 of this year. This will allow more time for a possible permanent solution to be reached. However, if no agreement is reached, the law when implemented will cap THC content at 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container.

Questions remain as to how committed federal authorities will be to actually enforcing the ban, so the products may still be readily available. Nevertheless, it will create obvious complications for retailers, so be careful. For starters, once the ban takes effect, don’t expect suppliers to take back these products since they don’t want to be sitting on them either. Liability issues will become a bigger concern and banks and credit card companies won’t want to be involved in these transactions either. Chances are if a federal ban does take effect, it won’t last indefinitely, but predicting what Congress will actually do—or not do—has become nearly impossible these days.

State laws present their own set of complications. State officials have determined that current state laws around THC are largely unenforceable. Officials are not even able to effectively keep it out of schools at this point. Some folks in the legislature want a ban, some want full legalization, and many folks are somewhere in between. Various bills have been circulated in the legislature over the last couple of years, but none have had enough support to pass.

The November 3 election will determine what’s next. If Democrats control the legislature and the Governor’s office, there will be a lot of pressure to legalize THC products across the board and allow recreational marijuana as well.

Republicans would likely block recreational use if they win, and many of that side of the aisle would prefer not to pass anything related to THC drinks or gummies either. Some just don’t support any bill that legalizes THC use in any way. The problem with that logic is that these products are already here, and it’s time for state officials to acknowledge it and regulate their use, for the safety of consumers.

The Tavern League of Wisconsin’s stand on this issue is simple and has not changed. The public overwhelmingly supports making THC products legal but closely regulated, like alcohol, and we agree. A regulated THC industry will allow for age limits to keep it out of schools. It will provide liability protection so retailers who responsibly serve are protected. And it will ensure that products meet safety standards.

Of course, even if lawmakers finally act, a state law would not take effect until any federal ban is lifted. It is important that the state act anyway, so a regulatory structure can be in place when the federal ban is lifted for good. At that point, we’ll finally have some clarity to this seemingly never-ending THC saga.