Ask any hemp industry stakeholder and they will tell you political jockeying on Capital Hill and in statehouses across the country has reached a record high. Cannabis industry leaders and lobbyists are crisscrossing the country pushing for sensible legislation to regulate hemp-based THC drinks. The question is: what is sensible regulation? Some industry groups want hemp beverages regulated by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) and to follow the same Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) laws that govern the bev-alc. Three states – Massachusetts’ HD3303, Mississippi HB1502 and Arizona SB1566 – have introduced legislation in line with this ideology to regulate hemp drinks. Yet, some hemp industry stakeholders claim these laws would restrict one of the key opportunities that hemp-derived THC drink makers have utilized amid the boom in cannabevs: ecommerce sales. Another piece of this power struggle: How the regulation of cannabis beverages has spilled over into the non-intoxicating CBD space. Many state regulations could indirectly (or directly) inhibit the sale of CBD drinks and gummies as they’ve been lumped into prohibition attempts on cannabinoids broadly, said Jim Higdon, co-founder of Kentucky-based Cornbread Hemp and U.S. Hemp Roundtable VP of Outreach. Language in Iowa’s HF105 and Nebraska’s LB316 appears to ban non-intoxicating cannabinoids like CBD as the bills bring tighter regulation to cannabis-derived products. It is a “coordinated multi-state assault from alcohol distributors” to take control of the hemp beverage industry, Higdon believes. “Control it or destroy it, [the alcohol industry] doesn’t care,” Higdin said. “If [hemp drinks] are going to exist, they want to control it. That’s where the direct-to-consumer part of this comes into play because they can’t control DTC.” As major alcohol distributors face a tighter environment, increased regulatory scrutiny and slowing sales as younger generations turn away from booze, joining forces with an emerging, similarly-positioned space doesn’t sound like such a bad idea after all. Who do you think should handle hemp beverage regulation? Send your thoughts to lsouthard@bevnet.com. Go Deeper: Do Cannabis Beverages Have An Ecommerce Problem? | 
