Gov. Josh Green鈥檚 approval of new regulations for CBD products, touted as a win for locally grown hemp, actually represents a major setback for the industry, local hemp farmers and CBD processors say.

The new regulations limit the allowable level of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, the main psychoactive component of cannabis known as THC, in locally produced hemp products like gummies, drinks, tinctures and oils. Those products are marketed for the benefits of a second non-intoxiciating compound called cannabidiol, known as CBD, which is used to reduce inflammation and relieve pain, stress and insomnia, among other things.

Federal regulations define hemp as containing 0.3% THC or less, with greater concentrations defined as marijuana. States have varying allowances on THC content in hemp-derived CBD products, such as , which include some restrictions thousands of times lower than the federal limits.

For CBD beverages in 贬补飞补颈驶颈, under the new Department of Health rules signed in November, that means 0.00028% THC.

Hemp advocates say the new product specifications rid local hemp products of their novelty, require machinery local operations cannot afford and will create an unfair playing field for 贬补飞补颈驶颈 products competing with mainland products.

The DOH is trying to keep THC-containing products from 贬补飞补颈驶颈’s youth, but says it lacks authority to restrict the purchase of CBD products to adults. As a result, it appears regulators are more broadly trying to ensure no one can get high off a CBD product.

贬补飞补颈驶颈 is one of few left-leaning states that haven’t legalized recreational use marijuana 鈥� as 24 other states have 鈥� despite establishing a medical marijuana program in the early 2000s.

Concerns about the hemp regulations are the latest tussle in a battle over state oversight dating back to 1999, when 贬补飞补颈驶颈 became the first state to legalize the cultivation of hemp since a in 1937.

Now, 25 years later, a government-formed 贬补飞补颈驶颈 Hemp Task Force has . It cites the need for a more stable regulatory environment for a crop with “52,000 end-uses, including food, fiber (building materials, textiles, paper), animal feed, cannabinoids, and, importantly, a renewable source of fuel.”

That report is expected to affect bills in the coming legislative session aiming to make 贬补飞补颈驶颈 more hemp-friendly, something CBD business owners like Jared Dalgamouni of Rare Cannabinoid Co. support.

CBD Products 驶Offer The Margins Farmers Need驶

Dalgamouni pulled his business out of 贬补飞补颈驶颈 in 2019, two years after starting with hopes of using entirely local hemp. Regulation changes that year, which required more specific and expensive processing facilities, prompted him to use mainland processing facilities. Building such a facility in 贬补飞补颈驶颈 was too expensive, he said, a factor that also led to an exodus of other CBD businesses.

The latest state regulations allow local CBD processors to make gummies and beverages for the first time. But the restrictions, which are also imposed on oils and tinctures, make them economically unfeasible, 贬补飞补颈驶颈 Hemp Farmers Association President Gail Byrne Baber said.

Dalgamouni has continued to use Maui-grown hemp for a line of his products, Hawaiian Choice CBD, but the new 鈥渉am-handed, out of touch鈥� and 鈥渦ltra-draconian鈥� rules will stop that, he said.

The limit will be five gummies per package, with 1 milligram of THC per gummy, compared to the 30-packs that people can still easily acquire in 贬补飞补颈驶颈 from mainland companies 鈥� though they驶re not technically legal. Beverages cannot have more than 0.5 mg of THC per container.

The most alarming restriction is on the volume of THC allowed in tinctures 鈥� liquid extracts 鈥� which may as well be zero, Byrne Baber said.

The federally designated demarcation between hemp and marijuana of 0.3% was set because anything less than that is unlikely to generate psychoactive effects for CBD users.

Byrne Baber grows hemp and produces her own tinctures that have helped prop up her farm and its production of food crops.

“贬补飞补颈驶颈 farmers have some of the highest costs of production in the world and what the consumers are willing to pay for food doesn’t cover costs,” the hemp task force report states. “Hemp products, especially cannabinoid products, that can be processed and manufactured on-farm in boutique quantities, offer the margins farmers need, especially small farms that comprise nearly 70% of 贬补飞补颈驶颈’s farms.”

贬补飞补颈驶颈 doesn鈥檛 have a processor that could rid products of all of their THC either, Byrne Baber said. Sending hemp to the mainland is expensive and the trip is too lengthy for the health of the plants.

Judiah McRoberts of 碍补耻补驶颈 Hemp Co. runs the largest CBD processing facility in the state and says it would be economically impossible to make any of the CBD products under the new restrictions.

贬补飞补颈驶颈 has four state-accredited processing facilities.

Removing almost all THC from CBD products strips them of other desirable properties unique to locally grown hemp — known as “full spectrum” products — which they say can help boost energy, relax muscles, aid sleep or focus and suppress appetites.

Those qualities, selectively bred by local farmers, are what make 贬补飞补颈驶颈 CBD products competitive, Byrne Baber said.

The Department of Health declined a request for an interview.

But in an email statement, DOH Information Specialist Kristen Wong said the rules aim to balance the industry’s requests with the agency’s community health mandate, particularly protecting children. The DOH altered rules in response to the industry too, allowing for traces of THC in beverages, Wong said.

Dalgamouni said that if the new rules stand, 鈥淚 suspect you will find that 95% of hemp farmers will quit next year, and by year end there will be no hemp farm sector in 贬补飞补颈驶颈.鈥�

The DOH has said that the new rules also apply to mainland operations, but local industry representatives are skeptical that the agency would be able to enforce any of its rules on the out-of-state operations.

“If you wanted to buy it online you could just do it today,” McRoberts said. “There驶s no restriction on them or regulation. It kind of puts us in a bind.”

The Battle Continues

Dalgamouni’s forecast for the hemp industry flies in the face of state Rep. Dee Morikawa’s intentions for the crop. Her successful 2023 legislation aimed to remove what Morikawa called ““

Morikawa last year said the industry had huge potential after the signing of Act 263, a bill that also included the formation of the task force to identify the best way to help the industry thrive.

McRoberts was buoyed by last year驶s bill and was on the task force, but now feels deflated by the new regulations.

The processor is unlikely to make it work and is considering transitioning away from hemp products altogether. That could mean marijuana instead, if the state legalizes recreational use.

鈥�If they do legalize adult use, probably that,” he said. “I just don鈥檛 see how anyone is going to be able to continue to compete.”

Wong said in her email the DOH “thoroughly reviewed” the task force’s final report, which said the proposed new THC restrictions would be “unrealistic” and “ultra-low.”

“It’s a little disappointing to go through that whole process and have the door slammed on you,鈥� McRoberts of 碍补耻补驶颈 Hemp Co. said.

According to the report, people purchased $54 million worth of CBD products in 贬补飞补颈驶颈 in 2020. It would not require much effort for local farmers and processors to capture 25% of the market, the report said.

贬补飞补颈驶颈 harvested about 14,000 pounds of industrial hemp in 2021, worth almost $2 million, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But 贬补飞补颈驶颈 has so few licensed hemp operations that the USDA withholds its data to protect those businesses.

“I guess there were about 60 very engaged farmers and people a couple of years ago,” Byrne Baber said. “My guess is we have a couple of dozen at the max. That attrition I put squarely at the feet of regulation that was probably well intended but kept 贬补飞补颈驶颈 on the sidelines.”

The key to reviving the industry, according to the task force report released in August, is recognizing that the regulatory landscape needs to remain consistent and provide farmers and processors some stability.

The growers and processors acknowledge that hemp-derived substances like Delta-8 or Delta-9, which have psychoactive effects, are a public health concern.

The industry would rather see CBD sales restricted to adults 21 or older, while maintaining higher THC thresholds in accordance with the federal limits of 0.3%.

“We’re trying to be reasonable,” Dalgamouni said. “We don’t want to sell to 12-year-olds.”

The DOH said it agrees imposing an age limit is a good idea, but it lacks the power to impose or police restrictions.

“Without legislative action, age-gating cannot be included in the amended rules,” Wong said. “The DOH has proposed an age-gating measure for inclusion in the Governor鈥檚 legislative package and strongly supports a legislative solution.”

The task force has , which begins Jan. 15, covering proposed legislation to help all sectors of the hemp industry.

“I understand what both sides are saying. I think there is a compromise both can live with.”

State Sen. Tim Richards

But for CBD processors, there are four key priorities, all of which relate to the DOH regulations. They include letting producers include THC in tinctures according to federal 0.3% limits, upping allowable THC concentration in edibles and beverages to 2.5mg, allowing 30-packs of gummies and imposing an age restriction.

“By all means, let’s prepare all the bills and get them going,” Sen. Tim Richards, deputy chair of the Senate Agriculture and Environment Committee, said.

The Big Island lawmaker, who is a rancher and veterinarian, said there has been give-and-take on both sides but the new DOH rules are “a bit extreme.”

“I’m not your brother’s keeper but I do think we need some guardrails,” Richards said. “I understand what both sides are saying. I think there is a compromise both can live with.”

“贬补飞补颈驶颈 Grown” is funded in part by grants from the Stupski Foundation, Ulupono Fund at the 贬补飞补颈驶颈 Community Foundation and the Frost Family Foundation.