Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear signed a bill into law Thursday to make it illegal for people under age 21 to buy products containing delta-8 THC, a marijuana alternative.

The bill, which passed unanimously through the legislature this month, also bars people under that age from possessing delta-8 and other hemp-derived substances and requires retailers to keep the products behind the counter. It also instructs the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to establish a lab-testing and approval process.

Beshear signed an executive order last year to regulate such products, but that only dealt with packaging and labeling.

“We did our best in an executive order, but we couldn’t do many things in that executive order that you can via legislation,” Beshear said in a press conference. “So, this really good bill codifies the executive order into law, but it does a lot else in establishing a regulatory structure.”

The Kentucky bill’s passage came after a series of Courier Journal stories about the eruption of the delta-8 market following the 2018 federal farm bill. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell supported the bill in an attempt to help the state’s hemp farmers. However, an unforeseen loophole unexpectedly created the market for delta-8 THC items. [Read More @ The Louisville Courier-Journal]