By This week the cannabis industry’s hemp debate took center stage, with a former Marijuana Policy Project staffer publicly breaking with the group over intoxicating hemp products. Meanwhile, a new analysis argues dispensaries are missing crucial customer insights that their point-of-sale systems cannot capture.
Former Staffer Criticizes Marijuana Policy Group Over Hemp THC Push
Chris Lindsey of the American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp, who spent nearly a decade on MPP’s staff, criticized the group’s request that Congress keep intoxicating hemp products on the market. “The charade of hemp intoxicants must end. Sneaking in the back door with synthetic drugs nobody asked for is not the path to legalization,” Lindsey wrote.
He noted MPP led the way on 15 medical cannabis laws and played a leading role in 14 of the 24 adult-use states, and that in Illinois the work took six years and three laws.
Lindsey said that on December 11, intoxicating hemp such as THCa flower will be treated as marijuana, and synthetic THC derivatives will be treated as designer drugs. He argued that by MPP’s own count, more than 300 million Americans already live in states with medical cannabis programs, and that most prohibition states never chose hemp intoxicants, which arrived through a federal loophole without a state vote. He described THCa flower as marijuana by another name and delta-8, HHC, and THCP as lab-made versions of THC.
What Dispensary POS Data Misses About Customers
A Cannabis Industry Journal report argues that whether a customer returns is settled hours after purchase, at home, when the product either does what the customer bought it for or does not. The POS records the transaction but nothing about the outcome. The report illustrates this with two customers who buy the same product at the same price with the same loyalty discount; one has a good experience and returns, while the other quietly tries another store, and nothing in the transaction data distinguishes them.
The report cites a 2022 analysis of commercial cannabis across six U.S. states finding that labels including indica, sativa, and hybrid do not consistently align with products’ measured chemical profiles. In a University of Colorado study, participants assigned to higher- or lower-THC flower and concentrates showed very different levels of THC in their blood, yet researchers concluded that differences in short-term subjective effects “did not track specifically with strength of the cannabis consumed.”
Florida Urged To Regulate Hemp THC Drinks
Dani Baranowski of the Florida Hemp Beverage Coalition wrote that Florida adults are picking up hemp beverages under the legal framework state legislators put in place in 2019. NielsenIQ found that 28 percent of U.S. adults have tried a cannabis-infused drink, and 50 percent say they’re interested in trying one. Starting December 11, any finished hemp-derived products with more than 0.4 milligrams of THC per container will no longer count as legal hemp, which Baranowski called a ban on nearly the entire category.
