Missouri Attorney General to help crack down on intoxicating hemp products [Video]

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey is creating a new specialized unit to assist the state’s alcohol and tobacco regulators in cracking down on intoxicating hemp products, Bailey announced at a Capitol press conference Tuesday afternoon. 

The announcement comes after Gov. Mike Parson’s ban on these products hit a delay of up to six months.

The ban was supposed to take effect on Sept. 1, after Parson signed an executive order on Aug. 1 to remove all hemp-derived THC edibles and beverages from store shelves. However last month, Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft rejected the emergency rules detailing how it would have been enforced.

That meant regulators at the Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control didn’t have the authority to enforce the ban among stores that have licenses to sell liquor or tobacco products — which is where the vast majority of products are being sold, …