Local Business Owners React to New Hemp Products Law | News, Sports, Jobs

Owners and managers also do not believe the claim that the law was enacted to protect children. Tyler Anderberg, owner of Pure Releaf on 13th Street, which sells CBD products, wondered where the tragic stories of children being adversely affected by these products were.

“Why was this necessary?” he asked. “I will not allow this to be given to my children.”

HF2605 removes all products offered by the store from Pure Releaf. Underberg’s customers range from his 50s to his 95s, and his products are not marketed to children. All of his customers have expressed outrage over the law.

“They come here to get relief from pain and anxiety and to get some sleep,” he says. “Pain is the biggest thing I help people with. They can’t take loads of ibuprofen or Tylenol. CBD takes their pain away.”

Consumable hemp products offered at Marshall Tobacco and Vape Outlet include gummies, cookies, suckers, and more. Not sold to children. New legislation limits THC content per serving to no more than 4 mg.

Josh Brown, manager of Marshall Tobacco & Vape Outlet on Main Street, said the law would remove all but two hemp products from store shelves. He said the store had purchased permits for all of its products, but then the state Legislature enacted the ban.

“I don’t understand why they would back off,” Brown said. “We have people coming here with cancer, broken bones, all kinds of serious illnesses who would rather rely on cannabis products and THC than take pharmaceutical drugs.”

One of them is veteran Christian Banzhaf, who occasionally helps out at Vape Outlet and uses hemp products to treat service-related illnesses. Banzhaf isn’t the only veteran to use a vape outlet. Brown said other veterans with neurological injuries would come in regularly for THC caramels and peanut butter cups.

“It’s delicious and it helps,” he said. “He doesn’t want to take pharmaceutical painkillers. He wants something natural and there’s nothing wrong with that at all and I don’t think anyone should tell us different. Why take this away from people who need it? Children don’t shop here.”

Vape Outlet’s hemp packaging clearly states that it is intended for people 18 years and older. Brown asked how companies can be blamed if their packaging clearly has age restrictions and their employees and owners aren’t selling to minors.

“Personally, I would never sell to anyone under 21,” he said. “I guarantee you if you call any store in Iowa, 100 percent, you’ll be told the same thing. So how are minors getting it? What’s happening is parents are buying it for their kids so they don’t have to go out and pick it up off the street. That’s exactly what’s happening right now, and it’s been happening since the early days of alcohol.”

Underberg said that if his CBD products were to be given to children in any way, it would be only through their parents, and primarily in the case of seizures.

“Please stay afloat.”

Both Mr. Underberg and Mr. Brown face the possibility of serious repercussions to their living situations. Mr Brown said the business would lose nearly 40% of its revenue.

“Everything I invested in will be gone and there will be nothing left,” he said.

Mr. Underberg is currently trying to stay afloat. He put in his last money and founded Pure Releaf, guaranteeing that the product could alleviate his customers’ illnesses while containing less than his 0.03% THC content.

“I’m here for people who don’t want to take drugs, but want relief from pain,” Underberg said. “This is not a drug. If you take 50 pills, you might feel something. I specifically removed the THC. This is medical-grade CBD, not meant to get you high, but a real problem. It works. I can’t sell it now. No one can sell it. This industry will end.”

While much of the focus is on the 4 mg per serving limit, Underberg said it’s the 10 mg per container limit that would be a killer for the industry.

“No one is selling single servings of CBD,” he said. “With tinctures, you don’t have to buy a whole dropper. [The container limit] All products on the market will become obsolete. ”

But Underberg isn’t going down without a fight. He is in the process of obtaining a state license for food-grade kitchens, which is necessary to repackage products. Basically, Mr. Underberg said, he will put four pills in one bag, which means a lot of unnecessary plastic will end up in the Marshall County landfill.

“I’m not going to leave my customers alone,” he said. “We’re going to do everything we can to install a food-grade kitchen, but it needs to be done by July 1st. We’re scrambling at the moment.”

Speak Up

While some may be surprised by the governor’s signature, Underberg isn’t surprised that HF2605 is being discussed. He added that there was a move to make hemp and CBD products illegal in all states that have not legalized marijuana. When Underberg heard about the law, he called every member of Congress to tell them how harmful it would be to the people of Iowa and the industry that depends on CBD.

“They’re playing like they didn’t know anything, but everyone knew,” Underberg said. “We helped them understand how to achieve their goals without disrupting the industry.”

Rep. Sue Cahill (D-Marshalltown) was one of the lawmakers contacted by Mr. Underberg. He said that while the bill was being debated, lawmakers were primarily focused on beverages. Cahill believes the impact on consumables was not sufficiently investigated.

“They got the shaft,” she said. “The medical purpose of the product was not considered.”

Mr. Underberg and Mr. Brown are calling on Iowans to contact their elected officials and speak out against the new law, hoping that the class action lawsuit will move forward. Underberg is predicting a long game and doesn’t think anything will happen until next year.

“By then it will be too late,” he said.

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Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611, ext. 210 or

lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.