Gov. Mike Kehoe’s office received 10,000 handwritten letters Tuesday asking him to veto a Missouri bill that would impose a statewide ban on intoxicating hemp products.
The letters, gathered in just 10 days, came from small-business owners, farmers and customers across Missouri who say the legislation could wipe out the state’s hemp industry — even if Congress ultimately pulls back from its own ban set to go into effect on Nov. 12
Opponents’ main concern is the proposed hemp ban could make Missouri’s guidelines more restrictive than the provision Congress included in a federal spending package signed by the president.
“These are voices of Missourians that want their voices to be heard,” Jay Patel, president of Missouri Hemp Trade Association, said during a press conference on the Missouri Capitol steps Tuesday. “The bill sits on the governor’s desk, and if signed, it would effectively eliminate an entire industry in Missouri — the hemp industry — regardless of any federal change in legislation or extensions that may occur.”
The legislation, sponsored by state Rep. Dave Hinman of O’Fallon, comes amidst uncertainty on where the federal government will finally land on regulations for intoxicating hemp products.
There’s a possibility Congress could delay the implementation of the ban or set different regulations for certain products, such as beverages or CBD products with a small amount of THC.
Under Missouri’s bill, all intoxicating hemp products would be taken off the shelves starting Nov. 12 — including THC seltzers currently sold in bars and grocery stores — just like they will nationwide.
But if Congress reverses course and decides to allow the sale of these products, Missouri would only permit them to be sold in licensed marijuana dispensaries. And if Congress chooses to delay the ban, Missouri would still ban all products, except for intoxicating beverages.
Kehoe’s office was expecting to receive the bill on Tuesday, his spokeswoman Gabrielle Picard said, and he’ll have 15 days from when it officially lands on his desk to sign or veto the bill. She said it’s the first time this year the governor’s received such a large amount of handwritten letters in opposition to a bill and is “somewhat unique” in general.
The governor is still reviewing the bill and has not made a decision, Picard said. Kehoe has publicly expressed his support for aligning the state with the federal ban.
Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway has also expressed support for the bill. Since November, she’s sent 33 cease and desist letters, demanding that businesses stop selling intoxicating hemp products.
Intoxicating hemp products with as much as 1,000 mg of THC are being sold in smoke shops — outside of Missouri’s licensed marijuana dispensaries — and they aren’t regulated by any government agency. Missouri lawmakers have failed to pass legislation regulating these products since 2023.
Adding to the complicated regulatory environment, President Donald Trump signed an executive order in December ordering his administration to work with Congress to develop a framework that permits full-spectrum CBD products.
Under Trump’s leadership, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services rolled out an initiative on April 1 that could cover $500 per year worth of hemp-derived THC of 3mg per serving and CBD products for eligible users. The products under this program would be illegal nationwide if Congress doesn’t change the language in the upcoming ban.
That’s why hemp association leaders feel the CBD program rollout gives a strong indication the language will change.
But under the bill before Kehoe, Missouri would not allow patients to participate in this program, said Brian Riegel, owner of South Point Hemp, who is among the Missouri business owners developing products that would meet the requirements of the CBD program.
“I feel like I’m getting left behind,” Riegel said. “There’s some other manufacturers in other states who aren’t doing this right now [of the veto letter campaign.] They’re working on this new Medicare initiative that’s launching fast. I feel like if you’re not first, you’re last.”
Hinman told The Independent that wasn’t the bill he was hoping to pass this year. He was hoping to continue what he worked on for 10 months last year — bringing hemp business owners together to propose a regulatory framework outside of the marijuana rules.
Restricting the products to only be sold in cannabis dispensaries was also not his preference, he said, but it’s the regulatory framework the state already has in place.
His original language stated Missouri would delay its ban if the federal government did, but he said that would unintentionally leave the products unregulated in the state indefinitely.
All the pending bill does is, he said, codify the federal language and allows Missouri to use local police and local prosecutors to enforce the federal ban.
“If this bill passes or if the governor decides to veto it, it doesn’t matter,” Hinman said, “because their businesses are still going to be gone. The federal government is the one who has come out and said as of November 12, they aren’t going to be in business anymore.”
