House committee backs earlier ban for smokable hemp

Their concern: Smokable hemp may not contain the THC that produces marijuana's high, but it looks and smells just like marijuana. Allowing hemp growers and shops to sell the buds, along with oil extracts and other marketable products from the hemp plant, makes it nearly impossible to enforce the state's marijuana laws, law enforcement said.

Several sheriffs testified Friday that, if smokable hemp is legal, they'd lose the probable cause that's key to many drug busts. State officials are looking for a field test that can tell the difference between the cannabis cousins, and in fact plan to test one next week. But that process could take time, and as of now, "there is no validated field test," said Eddie Caldwell, general counsel for the North Carolina Sheriffs' Association.

Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said this isn't just a problem for marijuana enforcement. She's got heroin and cocaine cases pending that hinged on probable cause from the smell of marijuana smoke.

The committee moved Senate Bill 315 forward, with a smokable hemp ban coming into law Dec. 1. The bill passed the Senate with that ban delayed until December 2020 and with a requirement that the hemp industry and law enforcement huddle to figure something out before then.

Hemp, including the smokable flowers, is legal now in North Carolina and has been an unexpected success in the marketplace. Some people like to smoke it as a delivery for CBD, a substance in the plant many believe has medicinal properties.

Industry insiders testified Friday that the smokable flowers can sell for up to $800 a pound. The more commonly known CBD extract sells for an average closer to $40 a pound, growers said.

The bill heads now to the House Judiciary committee. For a final bill to pass, the House and Senate will have to come to an agreement on language.