Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation Highlights Historic Initiative to Prevent the Sale of Harmful Hemp Products to Minors

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Today, the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) highlights its historic enforcement initiative to prevent the sale of harmful hemp products to minors. Since July 1, 2024, DBPR's Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco (division) has made more than 120 arrests for the sale of hemp to minors at licensed retail stores, including gas stations, grocery stores and smoke shops.

"The safety and well-being of Florida's consumers is DBPR's top priority. With Governor DeSantis at the helm, we are proud to lead this critical initiative to protect Florida's minors from the serious health risks hemp products can pose," said DBPR Secretary Melanie S. Griffin. "As the hemp industry evolves and packages products specifically designed to be attractive to our youth, it is critical now more than ever that DBPR remains vigilant in enforcing Florida's protections. In just 3 months, our efforts have resulted in 127 arrests, and we won't take our foot off the gas."

In June 2023, Governor DeSantis signed Senate Bill 1676, which instituted a series of consumer protections related to the sale of hemp products. Florida law now prohibits the sale of hemp products to anyone under 21, prohibits the sale or distribution of hemp products found to be mislabeled or attractive to children, requires hemp processing facilities to meet food safety and sanitation standards, and provides a potency cap on products containing hemp extract.

As of July 1, the division began including hemp investigations in its targeted sales to persons under the age of 21 to assist in enforcing these consumer protections. The division has conducted more than 1,100 investigations into establishments selling hemp products through this initiative.

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The Department of Business and Professional Regulation licenses and regulates nearly 1.7 million businesses and professionals in the State of Florida across more than 30 fields of industry. The Department's mission is to license efficiently and regulate fairly. For more information, visit MyFloridaLicense.com.

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