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Missouri hearing on 'Intoxicating Cannabinoid Control Act' splits industry, public-safety witnesses
Summary
The House committee heard hours of testimony on the Intoxicating Cannabinoid Control Act (ICCA), a bill that would regulate intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids; supporters urged regulation to close a federal-era loophole, opponents said the bill would harm Missouri's hemp businesses and veterans who depend on them.
Lawmakers in the Missouri House Committee on Crime and Public Safety heard more than an hour of public testimony on House Bill 593, the Intoxicating Cannabinoid Control Act (ICCA), a proposal intended to regulate intoxicating cannabinoids derived from hemp.
The bill’s sponsor, Representative Jan Perkins (Fortieth District), told the committee, “Missouri's children can walk into a c store and buy an intoxicating product that comes from the cannabis plant without breaking the law because it's completely unregulated.” She framed the measure as a public-safety response to cases of youth intoxication reported to law enforcement and poison-control centers.
Supporters — including Tom Robbins of O'Kane Trade, Alec Rosenblum of the Missouri Cannabis Trade Association and Nico Pinto of Elevate Cannabis — urged the committee to close what they described as a 2018 federal-law loophole that left some intoxicating cannabinoids unregulated. Robbins summarized the policy rationale as aligning Missouri law with the 2018 Farm Bill’s intent: to distinguish nonintoxicating industrial hemp from intoxicating cannabis products created through chemical conversion.
A number of witnesses said the committee should consider a narrow carve-out for low-dose, beverage-style products regulated by the state alcohol regulator. Robbins said industry stakeholders are “presently working through a committee substitute that would carve out low dose hemp naturally derived hemp beverages to be distributed by and regulated through ATC.” Witnesses described proposed beverage limits around 5 milligrams per can as a possible compromise.
Opponents, including John Grady (who identified himself as a veteran) and Brooklyn Hill of the MoHEMP Trade Association, said HB 593 would threaten lawful hemp businesses, jobs and access for Missourians who rely on hemp-derived products. Hill said her family’s small-business converts to CBD and similar products and supports “child safe packaging” and testing, but that an outright ban or a strict transfer to the Article 14 regulated marijuana system would “eliminate that completely.”
Several committee members questioned where testing and enforcement would sit under the bill. Witnesses said testing and oversight would involve the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) and other state labs as specified in the bill, and they cited the 0.3% delta‑9 THC dry-weight threshold created by the 2018 Farm Bill as the federal starting point that led to the present ambiguity.
No formal action was taken on HB 593 during the hearing. Committee members debated statutory definitions, whether the bill would codify existing store practices, and whether state-level regulatory solutions or a federal regulatory change (for example at FDA or Congress) would be more durable.
The committee chair closed the public hearing and moved on to other scheduled bills.
Ending: The ICCA drew sharply divided testimony from industry advocates who urged regulation and small-business and hemp-industry witnesses who warned of economic harm. Committee members asked staff and stakeholders for more detail on testing, labeling and enforcement before taking further steps.
