People under the age of 21 will no longer be able to buy hemp-derived THC products in Milwaukee, under an ordinance passed by the city’s Common Council on Tuesday.
The substances targeted by the ordinance include delta-8 THC.
THC is the psychoactive chemical found in marijuana, which is illegal in Wisconsin. But a 2018 federal farm bill created a loophole legalizing hemp plants with low levels of THC. A market sprang up to extract that THC’s delta-8 variety and sell it as candy, seltzer and vapes, sometimes not clearly labeled as containing psychoactive drugs.
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In Milwaukee, that landed two children in the hospital after one of their mothers unwittingly bought them THC gummies at a gas station.
When the city’s Licenses Committee discussed the incident, alder Peter Burgelis learned no citations were issued because nothing illegal had actually occurred.
Since 2018, he said, Wisconsin’s state Legislature “has decided to not take action to protect the health and well-being of young people in the state of Wisconsin.”
“So, Milwaukee was ready to close the loophole and take action,” he said.
Burgelis was one of the ordinance’s first cosponsors. By the time it came up for a Common Council vote this week, all 15 Milwaukee alders cosponsored it. Now, those selling hemp-based THC products to people under 21 could face fines between $400 and $1,000.
Delta-8 science is ‘young’ but concerning, says public health chief
The science around delta-8 is still “relatively young,” said Ben Weston, the chief health policy advisor for Milwaukee County.
“There’s evidence that it could interfere with brain development in younger kids, and increase the risk of a number of different things, including anxiety and depression,” he said.
Studies have focused on the association between delta-8 and those effects, he said, rather than causation. But he said the association is serious enough to warrant restrictions.
He said regulations on potency or sales of hemp-based THC products are still fairly uncommon, but pointed to random sampling of hemp products in Georgia and labeling laws in Minnesota.
Some retailers already set their own age restrictions
Employees at several Milwaukee smoke shops visited by WPR on Wednesday said their stores already limited sales of THC products, at least to those over 18.
One of them is Puffin Pass Emporium. But its store manager, Aly Waite, said raising the age from 18 to 21 “would be fantastic” and would “keep the kids out of the store.”
Groups of high school students often come in with one friend who has turned 18. Mostly, store employees “try to tell them no,” Waite said.
As a teenager, the 32-year-old said, the ban might have upset her.
“But I mean, it’s just like drinking,” she continued. “You have to be 21. So why not just make it universal.”
In Burgelis’ view, the new ordinance will create consequences in cases where even stores with good intentions make a mistake.
He’s working on a law that would require licenses for stores selling hemp-based THC in Milwaukee, and hopes to introduce it in the coming months.
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