Business ·
Illinois THC drink ban sends leftover stock across state lines
A ban on hemp-derived THC drinks took effect at midnight in Illinois, turning the beverages from grocery items into illegal narcotics. Manufacturers are rushing to sell remaining stock or ship it to states with different rules.
Hemp-derived THC drinks are no longer legal to sell in Illinois, after a ban that took effect at midnight turned the beverages from ordinary grocery commodities into illegal narcotics. Manufacturers spent the run-up to the deadline trying to move whatever stock they still held.
Much of that inventory is leaving the state. Hemp companies are shipping their remaining supplies to Wisconsin, Minnesota and Tennessee, three states that regulate hemp-derived products differently from Illinois.
The change came out of Washington, where Republicans attached a last-minute provision to last year's spending bill, the legislation that ended the government shutdown. That provision barred all hemp-derived THC products.
For a category that had been stocked and sold like everyday groceries, the reclassification marks a sharp change in legal status, and it left producers with little time to clear inventory before sales became unlawful.
Source: The Guardian
Written with AI from the linked source