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Committee moves hemp law changes to curb semi-synthetic "high" products; amendment narrows retail ban
Summary
Senate Judiciary advanced House Bill 346 with an amendment intended to keep psychoactive, semi-synthetic cannabinoids out of retail while preserving legitimate hemp manufacturing workflows; committee adopted sponsor and technical clarifications after extended testimony.
Representative O'Meadow presented House Bill 346 to address proliferation of semi-synthetic and synthetic cannabinoid products sold at convenience stores and gas stations. Sponsors and witnesses said these products, often marketed as delta-8/delta-9 variants or synthetics, can be psychoactive, reach children through retail packaging and are not covered by current hemp or cannabis regulatory regimes.
Environment Department and Cannabis/Hemp Bureau witnesses (John Roderick, Jonathan Gearhart) and Regulation & Licensing Department counsel (Kevin Graham) explained regulatory limits: the Cannabis Regulation Act in New Mexico specifically controls delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol; the hemp program lacks authority and routine testing capacity for a shifting array of synthetic derivatives. Committee members said they want to stop unregulated intoxicating products on store shelves but also avoid shutting down legitimate hemp-product manufacturers.
Senator Duhigg offered an amendment (referred to in committee as 0.5.1) that would preserve a narrow manufacturing "intermediate product" pathway: it would permit manufacturers to possess intermediate hemp-derived materials as part of a lawful manufacturing chain, but it would prohibit sale of finished intoxicating semi-synthetic products directly to consumers or at retail. Department witnesses responded that the 0.3% total-THC threshold in the amendment captures some but not all of the semi-synthetic products of concern; many semi-synthetic compounds are not measured by the standard THC metric.
Committee debate also touched on federal law: sponsors noted reauthorization of the federal Farm Bill may close the hemp "loophole" nationally, but committee members said state action remains important to protect children and public health in the short term. After initial voting, senators reconsidered and then approved the Duhigg amendment; the committee ultimately voted to give HB346 a do-pass recommendation as amended.
The adopted posture leaves intact: (1) retail prohibition on intoxicating semi-synthetic hemp products; (2) allowance for legitimate supply-chain intermediate use for manufacturers (subject to testing and packaging rules); and (3) regulatory direction to Environment and Regulation & Licensing departments to coordinate standards and enforcement.
