Wellness shop owner says hemp restrictions may close his business
By Adam Berkowitz, KOMU 8 Reporter
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COLUMBIA, Missouri (KOMU) — A Columbia wellness shop owner said a newly signed Missouri law targeting intoxicating hemp products could force him to shut down his storefront after six years in business.
Ethan Jones, owner of MindRight Wellness in Columbia, said his commercial lease ends in August and he likely will not renew it because of the financial impact the law could have on his business when it takes effect in November.
Jones said he plans to continue selling some products online through e-commerce, but losing a significant portion of his CBD inventory would make it difficult to keep the physical store open.
“CBD accumulates to be well over about 20% of my annual sales,” Jones said. “That is enough of a loss with the overhead that I carry for a brick-and-mortar shop to close my doors.”
Jones said he understands why lawmakers wanted to address concerns surrounding some hemp and THC products, but he believes the law goes too far and hurts businesses operating responsibly.
“I’m sure there’s sketchy products out there, but that’s like a small percentage fragment of what’s available that they are just cherry-picking to present to the public to make it look as if it’s more of an issue than it is,” Jones said. “I don’t have kids coming in here, knocking down my door for CBD.”
He said he was surprised CBD products became part of the legislation.
“I never expected CBD to be on the chopping block the way that it is,” Jones said.
Jones said most of his customers are older adults seeking wellness products.
“The type of people that buy my products are a variety of different people, but what I’ve come to see is the older community, like 50 and above,” he said.
The legislation, recently signed into law by Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe, cracks down on hemp-derived THC products lawmakers said are being marketed in ways that appeal to children.
State Sen. David Gregory defended the bill, pointing to products designed to resemble popular snacks.
“See right here, it looks like an Oreo package, but it actually has THC in it, marijuana, and they’re labeling it as hemp and they’re illegally selling it as hemp,” Gregory said. “We are putting an end to it.”
“These are the kind of things we are putting an end to, they’re dangerous, they’re dangerous for our kids, they’re dangerous to our communities,” Gregory said.
Jones said he worries other small business owners could face similar consequences.
“A lot of good people are going to be hurt by this bill, myself included,” Jones said. “I have genuine intent in the way that I help people.”
Mindright Wellness has operated in Columbia for six years and is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Jones said the possible closure of his storefront is emotional after years spent building the business.
“Quite honestly, it’s sickening. I’ve worked extremely hard over many, many years helping people,” he said. “This has been my dream from very early on in my life.”
“It makes me super sad because I love what I do, I love the people that I get to help, they love us, and so it’s just gonna be a big change,” Jones added.
After signing the bill, Gov. Mike Kehoe acknowledged concerns surrounding the legislation, but said the bill reflected strong support from lawmakers.
“But unfortunately, as I’ve said, when the bill comes to the governor’s office we get to say yes or no, we don’t get to modify what the bill does,” Kehoe said. “The bipartisan and unanimous vote the House and Senate passed after many years I think is reflective of the people who sent them to office to represent them here.”
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