WSLS10: Christiansburg hemp store owners react to change in Virginia law

The store is adjusting to Virginia’s new hemp law

by Thomas Mundy

Published: August 2, 2023 at 7:22 PM

Source: https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2023/08/02/hemp-store-owners-react-to-change-in-virginia-law/

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. – It’s been one month since Virginia’s new hemp law went into effect. The law requires hemp products cannot exceed 0.3% THC and if it does, it must have a 25:1 CBD to THC ratio.

The law also created a prohibition for synthetic-hemp-derived products like Delta-8, requires child-resistant packaging, and hemp products must be certified by a lab.

The new change in the law has already started to affect stores across the state.

One spot in particular is one of Christiansburg’s hemp and CBD stores, Bear Dance Market and CBD Café.

Owners of Bear Dance Market say while aspects of the new law make sense, many aspects of the law overstep.

“A lot of these products go to people that cannot afford to go to dispensaries,” said Chris Reese, co-owner of Bear Dance Market and CBS Café. “The medical dispensaries haven’t been known for producing necessarily the best quality product. Since they have a monopoly on the market, they can pretty much sell whatever they want.”

Reese said they have been forced to change almost 80% of their products to comply with the new law and worry for the customers that relied on them.

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