An executive order to ban hemp-derived THC products in Missouri is being undermined by the secretary of state, Gov. Mike Parson claims.
Parson said Jay Ashcroft didn’t sign off on the governor’s Aug. 1 executive order banning hemp-derived THC products because the secretary of state was angry Parson didn’t endorse him in a recent gubernatorial primary in which he lost, the Associated Press reported.
Instead, Parson endorsed Ashcroft’s Republican rival and eventual primary winner, Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe.
But Ashcroft spokesperson JoDonn Chaney denied Parson’s charge in an email, saying that the secretary of state “had concerns the rule did not meet the legal requirements as defined in statute,” the AP reported.
“He reached out to the executive branch to give them opportunity to explain how it met the requirements and they did not respond,” Chaney said, according to the AP.
Parson has said a ban on hemp-derived THC products is necessary because children have mistaken them for candy and have gotten sick.
“This is a personal matter for thousands of parents and grandparents across the state, and denying the rule-making is your attempt at retribution for my endorsement of another candidate,” Parson wrote in a letter to Ashcroft.
“Safety of kids is not a political issue. I am disgusted that you are making it one.”
Parson, who can’t run for governor again because of term limits, ordered the Missouri Division of Alcohol & Tobacco Control to resubmit the emergency rule on hemp-derived THC and asked Ashcroft to reconsider, the AP reported.
The emergency rule was originally set to take effect Sept. 1, according to the news service.
Without Ashcroft’s approval, Parson must go through a process that can take months.
