Maine Working Group Recommends Setting Age Limit for Hemp-Derived THC Products

A working group in Maine has recommended setting an age limit of 21 for intoxicating hemp-derived products and placing caps on THC in hemp beverages, News Center Maine reports. Dr. Patty Locuratolo Hymanson, a physician and former chair of the Health and Human Service Committee who now sits on the working group, told News Center Maine that hemp-derived THC products in the state are “much more potent than was ever supposed to be allowed.”   

“And it’s perfectly legal to do anything you want to with it because there are no regulations around hemp the same way that there are rules around cannabis.” — Hymanson to News Center Maine 

John Hudak, director of the Office of Cannabis Policy, said the agency often hears complaints from parents about the ability of children to purchase THC-infused products derived from hemp due to the lack of age limits.  

“It’s pretty commonly seen by a lot of people as a problem that these products are in so many different places and available to children,” Hudak told News Center Maine. “We get complaints at our office even though we don’t regulate those products.” 

In a letter issued in November by the state Department of Agriculture Conservation and Forestry – which convened the working group – the agency said the lack of regulation “threatens public health and safety as well as the viability of Maine’s hemp industry.” 

“Hemp growers and processors recognize that accidental intoxications or other adverse impacts on Maine children and youth would be detrimental to growers and processors,” the letter states.

The working group suggested capping the THC on beverages as 5 milligrams per container and prohibit “copycat packaging” that looks like non-THC products.