Florida House Advances Bills to Regulate, Tax Hemp THC Products

Florida House lawmakers backed a pair of bills on April 16 that aim to tighten regulations on hemp-derived THC products and add a 15% excise tax on retail sales.

The House Budget Committee unanimously advanced both proposals, House Bills 7027 and 7029, with the latter bill requiring a two-thirds majority from both chambers of Florida’s Legislature to establish the new tax.

Under H.B. 7029, all consumable hemp product retailers would be required to register with the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (DACS), with the first $6 million collected in excise taxes under the bill allocated to the DACS’ General Inspection Trust Fund for enforcement of the state’s hemp program and testing standards. The remaining tax revenue would go to the state’s general fund.

This excise tax could generate more than $1.5 billion in annual revenue for the state, based on an estimate that Florida’s hemp-derived cannabinoid retailers’ total sales from 2022 were more than $10 billion, according to Whitney Economics.

Jodi James, president of the Florida Cannabis Action Network, opposed the tax proposal during Wednesday’s committee hearing, suggesting that nonintoxicating CBD products with trace amounts of THC should be treated like vitamins and supplements, which are free of taxation in Florida.

“While I recognize that you’re trying to create a lane for all of these things, not all hemp products are created for the intoxicating effect,” she said. “While I appreciate that we are putting a tax on the intoxicating hemp products, many companies are creating truly CBD products that are created for wellness; they’re created for supplements. And I’d like to see that we can make sure, as we move to the next stop, that we can clearly delineate the products that are created for that intoxication market.”

The 15% excise tax effective date of Jan. 1, 2026, under H.B. 7029 is contingent upon H.B. 7027 or similar legislation passing.

Under H.B. 7027, sponsored by Reps. Michelle Salzman, R-Pensacola, and Dana Trabulsy, R-Fort Pierce, the retail sale of consumable hemp-derived THC products would be limited to establishments that have a food permit from the DACS and prohibit the presence of persons under 21 years of age on their premises.

The age restriction poses a threat to product sales in grocery stores, gas stations and other convenience stores that allow those under the age of 21 on their premises to purchase nonintoxicating products like candy, chips and soft drinks.

Rep. Traci Koster, R-Tampa, took issue with this provision in the bill.

“I like that we’re finally regulating age restrictions, safety—all of those things are great,” she said, adding that she agrees with treating intoxicating hemp products similarly to alcohol. “I do think I’d like to see more conversation about our convenience stores being added back in. I think they, too, are allowed to sell alcohol at different levels. … I think we need to be considering that as well, so that we’re not making this lopsided for different vendors.”

Rep. Lauren Melo, R-Naples, piggybacked on Koster’s comments, indicating that while she’d support the bill in committee, that support could change later in the legislative process.

“I will be up today, but I don’t believe we should be picking winners or losers here with hemp products,” she said. “I, too, would like to see convenience stores added back in.”

The legislation would also remove the definition for the term “hemp extract” from Florida law and replaces it with a definition for “hemp consumable THC product,” which means “a substance or compound intended for ingestion, containing more than trace amounts of THC derived from hemp or any other source, or for inhalation which is derived from or contains THC derived from hemp or any other source, and which does not contain controlled substances,” according to a bill analysis.

However, unlike companion legislation, Senate Bill 438, which survived a full-body vote earlier this month in the upper chamber, H.B. 7027 would not ban all products containing hemp-derived synthetic cannabinoids, such as delta-8 THC, delta-10 THC, HHC, THC-O, THCP and THCV.

RELATED: Florida Bill to Restrict, Regulate Hemp Products Advances to Senate Floor

Although Salzman said she was going to add language to H.B. 7027 regarding synthetics in the next committee stop, she said, “I’m not quite sure about the banning of them.”

In addition, H.B. 7027 would:

• Require consumable hemp-derived THC products to have a certificate of analysis prepared by an independent testing laboratory;
• Prohibit packaging that is attractive to children;
• Prohibit ingesting hemp consumable THC products within 1,000 feet of schools; and
• Prohibit hemp consumable THC products from being sold, given, bartered, furnished, or delivered to consumers at wholesale or at festivals, fairs, trade shows, farmers markets, expositions or pop-up retail establishments.

The legislation also establishes THC serving and packaging limits, including:

• Beverages: no more than 5 milligrams of THC per 6 ounces, with individual containers having no more than 12 ounces and sold with no more than 10 containers per package.
• Edibles: no more than 2.5 milligrams of THC per gram, with individual edibles weighing no more than 2 grams and sold individually wrapped in packages of no more than 20 edibles.
• Pre-rolls and Vapes: no more than 2.5 milligrams of THC per gram, with individual units weighing no more than 1 gram and sold in packages containing no more than 20 units.
• Tinctures: no more than 100 milligrams of THC per gram, sold individually in up to 1-gram containers.

The THC milligram limits in each of the four bullet points above would be halved beginning on Jan. 1, 2029, under the legislation.

In addition, the bill would prohibit a person from purchasing hemp consumable THC products that total more than 100 milligrams of THC in a 24-hour period

Patrick Shatzer, the senior manager of regulatory affairs at Sunmed, a CBD franchise retailer with 260 stores in the U.S., including 42 locations in Florida, opposed the legislation during Wednesday’s committee hearing.

“I would just want to continue to express [that] the THC limits for edibles should match those for beverages,” he said. “The size of the gummies, or the size of the product, right now, it’s going to be limited to 2 grams, which is just the tiny little pinky. … The industry standard is anywhere from 5 to 8 grams. Just set a THC milligram limit and make us meet that.”

Shatzer also recommended amending the bill to allow for 30 servings per container to match dietary supplement standards. He also suggested that the 100-milligram THC limit per 24 hours isn’t enforceable.

While Salzman indicated that she would introduce amendments to the bill next week in the House Commerce Committee, she said she wasn’t willing to budge on the one-day THC limit.

“The weight-to-THC limits, the beverages, those things, those will be addressed in the next committee stop, but we are not going to remove the 100-milligram daily limit,” the sponsor said. “The argument about enforcement is fine. We could go back and forth on that. But, at the end of the day, if somebody knows they can’t buy more than 100 milligrams in that day, it’s going to give them a warning, subconsciously, ‘Maybe I shouldn’t have more than 100 milligrams of this stuff a day.’ And if you need more than 100 milligrams of this a day, you probably need to go get a medical cannabis card.”

Salzman said the THC limits came from some “really smart folks” who put science behind it.