Dear Virginia Cultivars Family,

We are writing to you today to call on you for your help! Virginia Cultivars, and its staff’s livelihoods are being threatened by Virginia SB-591, a bill that if passed, will redefine Hemp.

If passed, SB-591 will:

• *Change the legal definition of Hemp and Hemp derivatives such as CBD, CBG, CBN, Delta-8, THC-V, etc., redefining them as “Marijuana”. This will essentially prohibit us from selling these compounds, or severely restrict the quantity of which we can sell them to consumers (you!).

• *This will DESTROY the local Hemp/CBD market in Virginia, and thousands of Hemp farmers and small businesses in Virginia along with their employees and their families.

With your support, we may be able to prevent this bill from being passed in our state, or at least postponed. Please consider finding your delegate, calling or e-mailing them, and asking them to please VOTE NO TO SB-591!

Find your legislator here: https://whosmy.virginiageneralassembly.gov/

**If their contact information is not available on the website, it can usually be found through an online search or the representatives website.

Read the full bill and check its progress here: https://legiscan.com/VA/supplement/SB591/id/243741

TO ANYONE WHO SENDS US A SCREENSHOT OF AN E-MAIL SENT TO THEIR REPRESENTATIVE, WE WILL HAPPILY GIVE YOU A 50% OFF COUPON FOR ANY PURCHASE (ONLINE AND IN STORE). DEADLINE IS MARCH 9, 2022.

HERE IS WHAT WE ARE SENDING TO OUR LEGISLATORS. FEEL FREE TO USE THIS:

“Dear Senator ***INSERT NAME HERE,

Thank you for your help drafting and navigating this very sensitive matter. My name is INSERT NAME HERE and I am directly affected by this legislation.

I would like to express concern over some of the language in SB591 and SB391.

As it stands SB391, which has been continued and SB591, contains language that will impact the hemp industry and put many of us Hemp producers out of business. It will also lead to undesired overconsumption of cannabis products.

The parts in question are SB391 [ lines: 4914 – 4923; 10596 – 10610; 11012 – 11023 ] which defines Marijuana and places regulation on serving dosage and SB591 [ lines: 91 – 112 ], which has similar language.

In short, the language caps the cannabinoid at no greater than 0.3% percent, with a 1mg per package.

Excerpt: SB591

“…containing a tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of no greater than 0.3 percent and no 107 more than 0.25 milligram of tetrahydrocannabinol per serving or more than one milligram per package 108 at the time such industrial hemp extract is offered for sale at retail that is derived from industrial hemp..”

In short, not only is the amount ineffective on a biological level, it will open the door for consumers to eat an unhealthy amount of product to reach the dosage their given situation requires.

By example:
A healthy person, 80 lbs. to 160 lbs.; would not feel the effects of THC at this suggested dosage. On average the starting out dose of THC or alternate cannabinoid, is 5mg to 10mg; depending on body weight and metabolism.

The mass majority of consumers of cannabinoids are not taking them to get “high.” They are using them to control anxiety, help with depression, and for pain management.

By restricting the cannabinoid content, we are negatively impacting the consumer and Virginia’s hemp industry as a whole.

We need a system that lays out reasonable dosage and serving sizes, per cannabinoid. Not all cannabinoids are alike and some are far more potent. THC-P, for example, is claimed to be 300 times more potent than THC.

Please, keep in mind that much of the market is focused on pharmaceutical alternatives as they have become frustrated with our current medical systems. I know many people that have used cannabinoids to get off prescribed opioids. We have witnessed many testimonies about these products have raised the quality of their lives.

I know people who use THC to sleep, I myself take it for that very reason. I can personally attest to you that 45mg of Delta-8 THC is a safe and very effective for combating sleep issues, but again dosage is dependent on so much more than body weight and we need keep in mind tolerance levels advance overtime.

Our two points of concerns are that the language will destroy the market and this opens the door for health risks to the consumer.

If the consumer-base is forced to only by dosed candies at 1mg per cannabinoid; they will overeat to reach their desired dose and it won’t be the THC that hurts them. It will be sugar.

We appreciate the work that has been done, but we need a system that has the consumer at the forefront and will keep true to social equity and vertical integration for Hemp producers.

I thank you for your time and consideration”

As always, we thank you for supporting Virginia Cultivars!