The state legislature convenes a two month long regular session on Monday, among the bills they will take up are ones that would tax consumable hemp products. Thibodaux Representative Bryan Fontenot is proposing raising the tax on hemp products from 3% to 15%, while Monroe Representative Mike Echols is proposing raising it to 20%. Echols says there are multiple purposes behind his proposed hemp tax rate.
“One, it dissuades people from using what could become an addictive product, that’s one thing. But we have to fund the service lines that are out there, addressing those that might have an addiction disorder,” Echols said.
Echols says the last legislative session made it clear that hemp is in Louisiana to stay, so he’d like to use the occasion to raise money for essential services, like drug treatment and prevention.
“We do have to set up the framework for this to ensure we fund all these other service lines just like we fund many of the other products in alcohol or tobacco,” Echols said.
Needless to say, retailers who sell hemp products are not happy with either bill. Joe Gerrity, the CEO of Crescent Canna, says those bills only hurt the retailers who already face a great deal of red tape.
“The last thing this state needs is to become even more anti-business and put even higher taxes on consumer or products that we know they enjoy,” Gerrity said.
Gerrity says his industry is among those in Louisiana that he says are unfairly targeted by lawmakers.
“There are always going to be items like us, alcohol, tobacco, that get targeted by people who frankly, in most cases, rather see them banned. But if they can make a dollar selling them, that’s great, and if they can make five dollars that, in their opinion, is even better,” Gerrity said.
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