John SchroyerAgricultural regulators in Massachusetts told a hemp company to quit making and selling goods with the cannabinoid THCV, saying that such products are illegal under state law and must be destroyed.
“Cease and desist the manufacture and sale of hemp products containing (THCV) or any synthetic isomers of THC that are not otherwise authorized by state or federal law,” the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) wrote to John Nathan, the CEO of Bay State Extracts, MJBizDaily reported.
Nathan, whose company is a state-licensed hemp business overseen by the MDAR, called the letter “alarming” in a post on LinkedIn, and said he’s appealing the order to cease operations because the cannabinoid is naturally occurring and not synthetic or intoxicating, which appears to be the crux of the issue from MDAR’s standpoint.
Nathan warned that if the MDAR’s approach is allowed to continue, it could “effectively collapse the supply chain of THCV” and “cause a myriad of downstream effects” in the Massachusetts hemp trade.
Hemp in Massachusetts is regulated separately from marijuana, which is overseen by the state’s Cannabis Control Commission, an agency which has also been updating its industry rules in recent months, MJBizDaily noted.
