Albuquerque City Councilor Dan Lewis introduced legislation to ban synthetic hemp products from sale in Albuquerque.
The legislation would ban the advertisement, sale, manufacture or distribution of synthetic cannabinoids with over 0.3% THC. Under the ordinance, stores that sell non-intoxicating hemp products would be required to post signs that say “sale of intoxicating hemp products is prohibited under Albuquerque law.”
Lewis and supporter Indy White, who owns Silver Sap and is the general counsel for the New Mexico Cannabis Chamber of Commerce, said it would close a “loophole” in the law that allows the unregulated sale of synthetic cannabis.
The state’s 2022 law legalizing the sale of cannabis for adult-use only regulated delta-9 THC, the primary psychoactive component in cannabis. But other cannabis compounds such as delta-8 and THC-A, are not covered by the law, though they can produce similar effects to delta-9 when synthesized in a lab or burned. These compounds are then sold as hemp-derived products.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning that “[delta-8] may be labeled simply as “hemp products,” which may mislead consumers who associate “hemp” with “non-psychoactive.”
“We will not tolerate the poisoning of our community, especially our children,” Lewis said in a statement. “This ordinance ensures these harmful products will not be sold in Albuquerque by eliminating the loopholes that have allowed these dangerous products to be sold without oversight.”
Those found selling the products would face a petty misdemeanor charge and license revocation.
“This ordinance ensures Albuquerque is leading the way in protecting our community,” White said. “While hemp and hemp-derived products have valuable uses, they must not be exploited to bypass critical testing, safety regulations, and age restrictions—standards that are essential to our well-regulated legal cannabis market.”
The Finance & Government Operations Committee of the Albuquerque City Council will hear the legislation in the coming weeks.
Recreational, adult-use cannabis became legal in New Mexico in 2022.
Legislation to regulate hemp-derived cannabinoids at a statewide level passed the House this year, but has stalled in the Senate committee process, with less than a week left before the end of the legislative session.
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