Committee asks counsel to draft amendment clarifying hemp intermediaries, fees and shared equipment use

BURLINGTON — The Agriculture, Food Resiliency, & Forestry committee discussed an amendment that would place hemp product oversight under the Cannabis Control Board and asked counsel to draft clarifying language to address hemp 'intermediaries,' fee equity and dual‑use equipment.

Chair (committee) opened the discussion by asking whether the proposed amendment would cover hemp products that are legal today but could be reclassified as cannabis under pending federal changes. Bradley, legislative counsel, said the amendment as written does not explicitly direct the Cannabis Control Board to make rulemaking on that specific issue and recommended more detailed statutory language if the legislature intends to delegate that authority to the Board.

The Cannabis Control Board’s James Hubbard told the committee the amendment borrows regulatory tools used in the cannabis program to help smaller hemp operators. "We created a tier called a tier 1 manufacturer, which is,…