Milwaukee Common Council passes age restriction on THC products

By Kendall Keys

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    MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin (WISN) — Milwaukee City Hall is cracking down on THC sales. Tuesday the common council unanimously passed an ordinance prohibiting the sale of hemp-derived THC products to anyone under 21 years old.

The products are sold at convenience stores and smoke shops across the city. In Wisconsin, there’s no age requirement to buy the products, which are often in gummy and candy form.

“It’s the wild, wild west for hemp THC because there is zero regulation until today,” Alderman Peter Burgelis said.

Burgelis authored the ordinance unanimously passed by the full common council.

“We started looking at this soon after a licensing committee meeting where we saw that someone had sold, a store clerk had sold 600mg of gummies to a child, actually handed them over the counter,” Burgelis said.

Trolli gummy worm lookalikes ended up in the hands of two young Milwaukee children last year. The two kids ended up in the hospital after eating the THC candy an adult had purchased at Rama Foods. The store’s license was reviewed at a committee meeting, where it was discussed by common council members that there was not a way for police to enforce an age requirement on the products, and that the store didn’t break any laws.

“There are no consequences for mistakes or errors. Today we have consequences for that,” Burgelis said.

Sellers to underage customers could face fines between $400 and $1,000 per offense.

Aly Waite, store manager at Puffin Pass on Milwaukee’s east side said the added regulations are something she supports. She said her store has enforced an age requirement of 18 since opening.

“I’m definitely for it,” Waite said. “With drinking being 21 and nicotine and tobacco being 21, it makes sense for hemp to also be included in that. And it does help us keep kids out of the store.”

Tim Frey is the spokesperson for Ignite Dispensary and Cigar stores, with several locations statewide, including a location in Milwaukee on Water Street. He said his stores self-regulated, setting an age requirement of 21.

“The good players in this industry, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to set our own rules and regulations, whether that’s age restrictions, truth in labeling, and, you know, product testing,” Frey said.

“How bad was the gray area before Milwaukee started doing this?” WISN 12 News reporter Kendall Keys asked.

“I mean, it’s pretty bad. You know, there’s a lot of non-reputable shops out there that will sell anything to anybody,” Frey said.

Frey said an age requirement helps make the industry safer for consumers.

“We want the industry to thrive, but we want guardrails put up to make sure that we’re protecting the kids and the youth,” Frey said.

The ordinance now heads to Mayor Cavalier Johnson’s desk for his signature. Johnson’s staff said Tuesday he intended to sign it. Burgelis said it should take effect shortly after.

“I think most smoke shops are responsible operators, and they’re already enforcing a 21-year age restriction. But this ensures that everyone has the same level of compliance and attention to it,” Burgelis said.

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