“Their decisions left Tennesseans who rely on hemp for chronic pain out on the side of our busted roads and stuck the rest of us with the tax burden.”
By Adam Friedman, Tennessee Lookout
Tennessee Republican lawmakers banned popular cannabinoid-derived hemp products starting in July, and after one month of sales tax collections, projections are on pace for a $110 million loss.
The state’s new hemp laws ban smokable products and, in particular THCA, which several industry groups estimated made up 75 percent of Tennessee’s cannabinoid market.
When lit on fire, THCA essentially turns into THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana that is illegal in Tennessee. THCA, because it comes from hemp, technically has a THC content below the state’s previous legal threshold.
State Rep. Aftyn Behn, a Nashville Democrat, said the revenue shortfall was not surprising and that the ban “torched a $250 million industry.”
“Leadership can tout the revenue surplus all they want, but their decisions left Tennesseans who rely on hemp for chronic pain out on the side of our busted roads and stuck the rest of us with the tax burden,” Behn said.
Behn and state Sen. Heidi Campbell, a Nashville Democrat, renewed their push to
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