>> Hemp based drinks containing more than point for work or for tense milligrams of THC are set to be banned in Illinois this week.

It comes as state lawmakers cite concerns about potential health risks and marketing aimed at underage consumers.

But others say that banning these drinks could create unsafe alternatives and her businesses.

Joining us with more are James Swartz, a professor at the University of Illinois, Chicago's College of Social Work, Stephen co-founder of Hopewell Brewing Company and State representative will cause already whose district includes parts of Logan Square Portage Park and felt like Reagan.

Thanks to the 3 of you for joining us.

I'm James starting with you.

What THC infused drinks are different or what about them is different from alcoholic beverages or cannabis products.

There's a lot different from alcoholic beverages, right?

The difference being the intoxicant in the in the >> In the THC based a hemp hemp drinks.

There's THC, right?

And that's the main.

thing that gets you high Wright similar to cannabis products.

This really the same drug.

Compared with alcohol, which is, of course alcohol.

strikes are very different intoxicants.

So there's there's a big distinction between them.

main drug just getting you high in the drink, of course, how I guess How is that high different right?

>> What's does that and how is the high different, right?

What look, what are people looking for?

Is it just they're all sort of the press and some aren't.

>> They it in effect.

They all are depressants.

But you can compare it to having 2 or 3 martinis was smoking a joint, You're going to feel that difference.

That alcohol gives you sort of very different, maybe more of an up buzz where THC based drinks are going to give you a little bit milder track.

More tranquilizing effect.

alcohol beverage.

>> Stephen, what kind of THC beverages t brew at Hopewell?

Absolutely.

So we're a small business and Logan Square, Chicago.

So we've make craft beer and our hope up.

But we also have our brand called tune of Teach the bet today's beverages.

There are, you know, low calorie, they're fun.

They're enjoyable.

And it's just a great alternative.

It's a great way to invite more people into the space.

Not everyone wants to drink craft beer every day.

Not everyone wants to drink wine every day I drink coffee every day about, you know, maybe not.

So it's just part of the natural beverage ecosystem that we're seeing.

All of our customers enjoy.

That's kind of our exist reason to exist, bringing more people.

And so it's been a great way just to have more people come in and enjoy different beverage and likely could not substitute one of these beverages for the everyday coffee.

>> But I imagine like they'd gotten more popular as with the increase of people who are sober, curious or leaning toward sobriety, hugely south.

before we we were thinking or is this just for one segment, you know, non drinker, someone not ring and it's, you know, maybe they're not drinking that day.

Maybe they're done drinking that they they want to switch it up.

Maybe you had a beer and you know, you want to try to see track, maybe not drinking for the month, but >> it really just invites and entirely different customer and allows more people to interact in a social setting.

All of that said, how do you expect this upcoming ban might impact your business and the customers who enjoy those drinks it?

It's a disaster.

We're a small business.

We're having a good year.

We're growing.

We're paying down debt.

We're doing the right things that a small business should do, right.

But instead, now we're looking at this year and we're looking at layoffs and how do we survive the winter?

Representative?

Because already the him business, it's a half a billion dollar industry in Illinois generating 30 million in annual tax revenue for the state.

>> Are you concerned at all this ban might impact the state's economy?

Maybe put people out of a job?

>> You know, we're we're working within the framework that the federal government set up.

I want to step back for your viewers.

Might not be familiar with the different stream, hemp and cannabis.

That's the same plant contains the same molecule 10 years ago.

The federal government said there's a line in the sand.

Hemp contains very hemp plants are plants that contain very low amounts of THC.

Cannabis plants contain more than that.

I'm out cannabis as a schedule.

One narcotics like heroin or fentanyl.

Hemp is like flex are cognizant of agricultural product in those 10 years.

Scientists, chemists have figured out ways of extracting the THC from the very low THC, hemp plant concentrating it and making more potent products.

So those are regulated like cotton or flex like agricultural products, which is why you see these intoxicating THC products like hopefuls products and like all kinds of other products being sold all over the place, not just at cannabis dispensaries, but grocery stores and liquor stores and gas stations and everywhere else, they're not regulated.

They're not tested.

They tell you how much the issue have some companies test and tell you are measuring a very scientifically some who knows where they're getting these numbers from the products coming in from China from overseas, from other states are cannabis industry is very regulated test.

That's all I So the federal government changes mind.

They said never mind about that rule.

We past 10 years ago.

All of these products are cannabis and their schedule.

One narcotics like cocaine and heroin.

So our state is just moving to align with that upcoming federal change follow the regulations that we expect to see from Washington.

So, James, until until now, until the band, the proposed ban are almost ban the products have gone widely unregulated in the state.

>> Does the lack of strict regulation make it more likely for these products to fall into the wrong hands?

Underage minors, for example, under 21.

Oh, absolutely.

Absolutely.

Since there's no one.

>> The the studies that I've seen coming out of other states and Illinois suggest that age verification is fairly lax in the store.

So, you know, miners can come in buy these products off the shelf there as intoxicating as the products sold to a licensed dispensaries.

So it's been a big concern that the lack of any regulation has led to them falling into the hands of of youth.

Let me just add briefly that use that as intoxicating.

The fact is that they're often much more intoxicating cause.

>> Regulated cannabis dispensaries have potency caps on the products they can.

So they can only be someone, you grams out in the street and unregulated hemp industry.

products can have whatever potency one you have a package of 10 or 2050 milligram gummies, which is very, very potent.

If your viewers are familiar and that could be sold to anyone without age verification without safety testing.

So the unregulated space of just can't persist.

And the longer it's going to that point, you know, you're one of the sponsors of the Illinois him act.

Why do you feel it's better to ban the drinks rather than to regulate them and some of those concerns you name?

I got to tell you, I would love to see a world in which low potency beverages, an edible products that our drive from THC were available in more places than just dispensaries.

I think hope one of the really responsible actors in this space.

They test their product.

They label it.

They hk that.

But under the federal rules that are coming to effect next month.

That's not impossible.

The federal rules are very, very rigid about how you can do cannabis hemp products are going to Canada starting next month today.

There have next month.

They're going to be cannabis.

So we need business in our state to comply with cannabis law.

Otherwise they're going to be in trouble.

So I would just say that we have been asking for years for sensible regulations.

The things you're talking about, some of 21 plus rights on to licensed retailers.

are obvious things and choices that haven't been made.

>> I frankly find it ridiculous that we are making the choice as a business to card people.

21 plus, you know, to make these choices to do it the right way.

No one from the state or any agency has never once asked us to do these normal regulatory things that, you know, honestly, it's the boring part of government that keeps us safe right?

So I 100% agree these need to be regulated.

This needs to be fixed.

Instead, we're looking at a ban that like you're describing, punishes the good actors.

And I think honestly allows for the bad actors who might already want to skirt the rules to flourish.

You know, where we have an app to marketplace.

These are on the shelves and this is a customer that already exists that wants to buy these products that wants to enjoy them.

Normal adult decisions during their grocery shopping.

And we're just taking them away.

Stephen, are you are you concerned that, you know, this legislation will encourage people will create a black market or encourage people to seek >> unsafe alternatives.

I can't help.

But look at.

I mean, I come from craft beer, right?

I'll call producer and we did prohibition a century ago.

Right?

And alcohol went.

>> Nowhere right.

Instead of a safe regulated market, we went to a fully unregular market.

I never knows the problems that flowed from there.

I think needs to be regulated.

Lodo states.

The beverages along on shelves with craft beer and a normal place where an adult would buy and kids can't access it.

Those are problems that we can solve those problems that we already know the answers to.

And instead our legislators, our Governor Pritzker has decided I don't think that that actually solves the problem of an adult go into a store, buying a beverage off the shelf that they should have access Just to say that I agree with Stephen in principle, the House for work, but I think what he's not mentioning is that the federal government made this change that's going to take effect on December.

11th and >> unless you know that there's some talk about maybe they're going to do things differently there to go to Congress and undo that decision.

But assuming that they don't and this law takes effect at the federal level next month.

Stevens Business and all the other businesses were trying to do have the right way are not gonna be able to because they're moving their pride in from out of state.

They're being violated federal law and big legal trouble.

If a federal law is already off on the way, why implement a state ban?

>> Yes, we him the law that we passed in May that a lot of things, one of them was to align our state law with the federal law to pick the same effective date, which is tomorrow November.

11th terms the legislature adjourned, the federal government push that effective day back a month.

So that's why there's a slight gap and effective dates.

if the federal government decides they want to completely change course and do things really differently than the state of Illinois will get back together and think about how we can align with that direction.

Instead, what's frustrating is a small businesses federally today.

This is still fully legal and allowed.

>> And instead in 2 days, this is fully illegal in Illinois.

So we've now preempted this and it doesn't do us any good, right?

Like as a small business, we're ready to follow the rules.

But, you know, seeing Illinois misaligned with the federal government no longer aligned.

It seems like an easy thing to salt is a confusing, Steven, because I've also read that, you know, some retailers are trying to get this off of their shelves so that they're not in violation Salem for confuse.

I'm getting calls every day at the tap room are, you know, not just me, our business, but >> you know, hey, I heard that the federal extension, I or there's a lawsuit in Illinois that allows us all to an extra week like, look, I I don't know the answer to all these.

I'm not part of this lawsuit.

So it's it's creating mass confusion of retailers.

This morning.

I was talking to say.

>> Hey, I can keep buying for another week.

I'm not going to keep selling for another week because as far as I know, this is fully legal.

>> James, 15 to give the last word.

Do you think's going to happen here?

>> I think this is going.

I think this is going to pass there are it's going to continue on its current form.

I just want to make one quick point that the difference between prohibition and this is that you'll still be able to buy these intoxicating products.

You just got to buy them at the cannabis dispensaries, not at the mom and pop smoke shop.

So it's not an outright ban on these products.

It's an outright ban hemp derived products that are sold without regulation.

Ok,