North Tidewater News

Virginia's hemp businesses are feeling the heat as regulators clamp down on noncompliance in product sales, resulting in fines being imposed on several establishments, according to The Washington Post. Recent inspections have unveiled violations of both this year's and a 2022 law, prompting action against at least seven businesses across the state.

“The new hemp law takes critical steps to strengthen consumer safety," said Macaulay Porter, Gov. Glenn Youngkin's spokesperson.

The hemp industry vocally opposed this year's bill, foreseeing added complexity to Virginia's cannabis laws, while proponents contended it would enhance consumer safety in light of incidents of illness among children and others arising from the widespread availability of such products. Savana Griffith, owner of The Hemp Spectrum in Virginia Beach, shared her perspective with The Virginian-Pilot, highlighting her disagreement with the new legislation and outlining her business's response, which involved removing non-compliant items, sourcing compliant alternatives and establishing a distribution center in North Carolina to ensure compliance. 

Virginia's hemp laws had provided a loophole enabling the public sale of THC products for years, but starting from July 1, strict regulations were implemented governing the THC content in such items. Recently, state regulators imposed fines in July, ranging from $13,000 to $97,500, on five businesses that persisted in selling these products, according to the Virginia Mercury, Axios reported.