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Department flags compliance gaps in hemp/cannabinoid retail market, seeks one-time funding for specialized products oversight
Summary
Department officials told the appropriations subcommittee that a surge of unregistered or high‑THC cannabinoid products in retail outlets has strained enforcement and testing capacity and requested a one‑time $600,500 appropriation to cover a near‑term revenue shortfall in the Specialized Products Division.
Cody James, deputy director of the Department of Agriculture and Food’s Specialized Products Division, and Dr. Brandon Forsyth, director of Laboratory Services and Specialized Products, told the Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environmental Quality Appropriations Subcommittee that industrial hemp/cannabinoid retail markets have produced compliance and public‑safety concerns and that program revenue has declined as product‑registration rules changed.
James said the division oversees both medical cannabis and industrial hemp product lines, and that medical cannabis licensing remains tightly controlled through cultivators, processors, testing labs and 15 pharmacies. He said the medical cannabis program delivered more than 89,000 pounds of flower in 2024 and that pharmacies and processors ship tested products to registered patients.
On industrial hemp and cannabinoid products sold at retail, James and Forsyth said compliance issues are more…
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