Mississippi is confronting an unlikely new drug scourge: Hemp.
Intoxicating, hemp-derived products — which aren’t subject to testing or packaging requirements — are being sold at gas stations, corner stores and other retail establishments all over the Magnolia State. Kids aren’t even barred from buying mind-altering items like gummies and vapes that contain forms of THC that are similar to the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.
“Principals were complaining to me that kids are vaping Delta-8, Delta-10 all day — and are high all day — and get it at the gas station,” Mississippi state Rep. Lee Yancey, a Republican, said in an interview.
Where marijuana contains a type of THC known as Delta-9, the hemp-derived products Yancey referred to contain similar compounds, all of which can give users a euphoric high.
State lawmakers and regulators are now scrambling to fill the void created by a lack of federal legal clarity, worried about the risks of a completely unregulated drug industry that’s sprung up in plain sight. In more than 20 states — ranging from Florida to Ohio, California to Mississippi — legislators are proposing laws aimed at putting stricter guardrails around intoxicating hemp products or banning them altogether. [Read More @ Politico]