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Anticipated passage yesterday of legislation that will essentially outlaw hemp-based bevs in a year's time has prompted wave of alarm and outrage from nascent biz along with resolve to use that year to derail effort. In meantime, shares of publicly traded cannabev players like Tilray skidded as investors digested implication that key growth sector will essentially evaporate if law moves to implementation. Dispensary operators who'd seen their sanctioned monopoly on cannabis go away were pleased, saying the D9 sector had only been created thru a back door that never was intended by Congress in writing 2018 Farm Bill. It was mixed bag for alcohol players, with craft brewers, distributors and wine & spirits retailers lamenting pending demise of segment that had provided a crucial growth lifeline but major alc bevcos taking more muted stance. Much of commentary about 180 by former Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, centered, rightly or not, on his representation of major bourbon producing state. Recall that a few years ago he was bullish on cannabis dereg as a salve for ailing tobacco growers in his state. "This last-minute ban would destroy a $28 billion industry, wipe out 95% of hemp businesses and eliminate 300,000 American jobs," fumed longtime marijuana exec/consultant Chad Zani. "It would devastate rural farming communities across the country." Part of distress stemmed from fact that provision was slipped into broader legislation that would reopen gov't rather than getting specific debate. "The hemp language buried within the government funding bill is misguided, out of touch with consumer interests and misplaced in legislation where it does not belong," argued Tilray Brands svp Sam Garfinkel. Or, as cannabis attorney Michelle Bodian, lately with Nowadays brand, assessed: "In an unfortunate confluence of events, Congress tied the fate of cannabinoid hemp legality with the reopening of the government, and as you'd expect, Congress voted reopening the federal government was more important. While certain members of Congress were aiming to outlaw only some products, if implemented in one year, the broad language will impact the entire cannabinoid hemp supply chain and prohibit the sale of hemp beverages." It will do no less than "decimate the cannabinoid hemp supply chain and industry one year from today and has the potential to undo state regulatory frameworks that were created post-2018 Farm Bill." She added, "there is not a part of the current supply chain that will walk away from this unscathed: cannabinoid hemp farmer, processor, manufacturer, distributor, retailer - all will be drastically impacted with both job and economic loss." While she interprets language to indicate that naturally derived cannabinoids will be permitted in consumable hemp products like CBD and Delta-9 THC, in practical terms the 0.4 mg dosage limit that's part of the law would seem to render D9 bevs extinct anyway.There are some bright spots. For one, by providing a more detailed definition of hemp, including separate parameters for plants, intermediary and finished products, the new language does offer a more clear on-ramp for future legislative vehicles to adjust, for instance, the 0.4-mg cap on THC per container. "Think of this as a rewritten version of the 'one-year study' Senator Rand Paul proposed," reassured weed strategist Shaun Salvaje of The Puebla Group. "It buys us time &mdash; and we're going to use every bit of it." At state level, Bodian noted that the new federal law doesn't automatically change state laws tho "states may need to modify their laws." And as Salvaje noted, "there&#39;s also always litigation: killing a multibillion-dollar American-made interstate industry sounds arbitrary and capricious to me. Let&#39;s see what the attorneys think. We still have time."So how will advocacy effort unfold? That's still TBD. After all, "strategies (good ones, at least) are not finalized overnight," as Diana Eberlein, who chairs Coalition for Adult Beverage Alternatives, advised industry players who're restless to see a plan. Still, "the good news: we have many powerful and influential partners that are stepping up, not out. Mobilization and collaboration is essential, so stay tuned for strategy CTAs (calls to action)." Salvaje echoed call for concerted effort not splintered by narrower, parochial interests. "The FY27 appropriations bill can undo this, but only if we work our asses off to have the right conversations this year. And only if we work TOGETHER. No carve-out lobbying. You&#39;re killing us from within. Learn from the Senate.""This is government overreach powered by big alcohol and other lobbyists," inveighed Zani. "You will all look stoopid in the end when the world wakes up and realizes that you tried to ban the safest intoxicating beverage that mankind has ever put into a can. Good luck holding back this tide!"

Alarm & Outrage Among Hemp Bev Advocates in Wake of New Law - But Also a Year to Get Problem Fixed

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