RICHMOND, Va. -- Four Virginia medical associations sent a letter to Governor Glenn Youngkin (R - Virginia) imploring him to sign two bills aimed at regulating the hemp industry.
The Virginia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Medical Society of Virginia, Virginia College of Emergency Physicians, and Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association all urged Youngkin to sign SB 903 and HB 2294.
"We implore you not to amend these bills but to sign them as approved by the House of Delegates and Senate,” the letter dated March 9 read.
The organizations said their healthcare workers “have been alarmed by the recent surge of cases involving children who consumed these products.”
If signed into law, the bills would further establish regulations on products and limit the amount of THC allowed in a product. The law would restrict the products that can get someone high.
Stakeholders in the hemp industry feared this would effectively criminalize the plant and remove 99 percent of products from shelves.
The worry extends to small businesses like Kame Naturals.
Co-founder Reed Anderson sells CBD oils from hemp grown on his Goochland County farm.
“Our whole purpose wasn't to make money. Our purpose was to bring quality medicine to the marketplace,” Anderson explained. “[Lawmakers] see it as it's just two milligrams of THC. What's the big deal? It shuts me down.”
Anderson and the Virginia hemp industry do support the bills’ provisions that add protections like child-proof packaging and testing.
The bills would also cap total THC concentration at .3%.
Dr. Chris Holstege serves as chief of the Division of Medical Toxicology at UVA and is the director of the Blue Ridge Poison Control Center.
In 2022, the center saw 97 pediatric exposures to edibles.
Five patients went to critical care units, 11 went to non-critical care units, and 66 patients were sent to the emergency room.
Dr. Holstege said the products that concern him the most are those that resemble candy and often imitate actual products.
“We have no idea what the doses are in these products, and I don't think it's a surprise that we're having problems with children getting into this,” he explained.
He stated he hasn’t seen any reactions to CBD oils among children.
A spokesperson for Gov. Youngkin said he hoped the bill will "keep dangerous intoxicants off the shelves and away from Virginia children."
The spokesperson added that he continues to review the bill and is meeting with stakeholders.
Del. Carrie Coyner (R-Chesterfield) supports the bills and said many consumers are unaware that the products are largely unregulated.
“Oftentimes parents purchase these products because they wanted to help them with sleep or anxiety. But if they really knew how unregulated the products were and if they really knew that there was no quality control over how many milligrams of THC were in what they had in their home — I think they would be absolutely appalled at our state not regulating these products,” Del. Coyner said.
Coyner said her passion for this subject started as a member of the Chesterfield County School Board and as a mother of three.
“It's important that as parents we have conversations with our kids about the risks and what's happening because we have had very serious consequences for young people when they think it's candy and they don't know any better,” she explained.
She believed that the sponsors of these bills, Sen. Emmett Hanger (R-24th) and Del. Terry Kilgore (R-1st), have ensured that farmers and local producers would be protected.
However, a report released Tuesday by MC Global Holdings and the Virginia Healthy Alternatives Association predicted the opposite would happen if the bills were signed into law.
They forecasted 4,000 jobs in Virginia would be at risk and result in $161.8 million in lost wages.
The report stated there would also be a $1.2 billion loss in sales for the Commonwealth and 68% of store owners stated they would be forced to shut down.
