DAVENPORT, Iowa — A Davenport business owner is against a bill Iowa lawmakers are considering to make changes to the state's Hemp Act. It will restrict higher-potency THC products that are currently available to purchase in Iowa.
The bill has been approved by Iowa House lawmakers but has not passed the Senate. It was placed on the "Unfinished Business List," meaning legislators can revisit the bill at any time during the remainder of the legislative session.
House File 2605 would cap the amount of THC in hemp products to four milligrams per serving and 10 mg per container. It would also set an age requirement of 21 years old to buy products containing THC and require warning labels on products.
Rebecca Ramker, owner of Your CBD Store, is most concerned with the 10 mg per container cap.
"So what it's going to do is going to be more costly to customers and for us, because we are going to have to repackage 70% of our stuff," Ramker said. "All of our stuff is designed for like a 30-day supply. So instead of getting a 30-day supply, you're going to be able to get a two- to five-day supply."
Many of the products she sells are already under the 4 mg per serving.
"We do even have a few products that are over the 4 mg THC, which still doesn't give you that head high, which (lawmakers) think that the THC does," she said. "There's definitely a difference between the full spectrum and THC products that you get from the dispensary and stuff."
The products are sold to help people with health issues, such as sleep, anxiety, arthritis and migraines.
"I had a dad come in here, he had a 17-year-old daughter that had a brain tumor," Ramker said. "She started using our products. He would tell me if she had to walk from here to the middle of the parking lot, she would be tired, she'd have to sit down. Once she started using our product, she was able to go to prom, enjoy prom for the very first time... Her tumors shrunk in half. He was crying and it's just tons of stories like that. So we would really hate to see them close our stores down because we have so many customers that count on us."
The products already have warning labels on them, and Your CBD Store doesn't sell products directly to minors, she said. She doesn't have a problem with the age requirement being 21.
Supporters of the bill say the Iowa hemp industry needs more regulations.
Some business owners are going to the Capitol next Tuesday in hopes of meeting with legislators and explaining why they're concerned with the bill.
"They think anything above 4 mg is like the recreational marijuana, which it's not," Ramker said.
Between her stores in Davenport, Rock Island, Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, Ramker estimates she has over 800 customers a month.
"There are over 1,100 CBD stores in the state of Iowa and there are over 3,300 jobs right now," she said. "With the economy and stuff, that's another thing. We just can't afford to lose any more jobs."