BATON ROUGE - A bill establishing an industrial hemp industry in the state has caused some unwanted side effects. Now lawmakers are looking for ways to take unregulated THC products off shelves.

There are over 2,000 registered retailers in the state offering alternate forms of THC. House Speaker Clay Schexnayder says the problem isn’t the law, but how these products are being regulated by the Louisiana Department of Health.

“The hemp bill lays out exactly what is legal and what’s not legal. The problem is that we’re having products approved that are illegal even in statute,” he said.

The bill, which follows federal regulation guidelines, allows for hemp products to be sold with a THC content of no more than one percent. It also sets the serving size which is eight milligrams per serving.

However, products exceeding eight milligrams are seen throughout stores. Serving sizes can be split into multiple uses, therefore producing a high if consumed entirely. Now business owners are at risk of losing their products and investment.

“It’s hard running a business when there’s constant change. I can’t make any long term investments without knowing what the outcome is going to be,” Blaine Jennings, owner of Virgin Hemp Farms, said.

Schexnayder says the legislature is working closely with the LDH to fix the issue. He also said he understands the concerns of business owners in the industry.

“These people invested their money and they trusted their government to oversee it and the government failed them on that part,” Schexnayder said.

The legislature and Department of Health will meet March 1 at the State Capitol to hold an oversight meeting and address the situation before the next session.