Ybor City dispensary uses DoorDash to clear hemp inventory before December federal ban

Federal ban threatens DoorDash hemp deliveries A federal ban on intoxicating hemp products will go into effect one month from now. It impacts dispensaries that sell those products, including a Tampa business that started delivering some products through DoorDash. FOX 13's Briona Arradondo reports. The Brief Chillum Dispensary in Ybor City started delivering hemp-derived THC products through DoorDash ahead of a nationwide federal ban. Congress pushed the total ban back one month from Thursday to Dec. 11, leaving shops scrambling to clear inventory. Owner Carlos Hermida said the business must destroy any remaining hemp products on its shelves by Dec. 12. YBOR CITY, Fla. - A Tampa dispensary owner is using DoorDash deliveries to reach customers and clear out hemp inventory before a federal ban on intoxicating hemp products takes effect Dec. 11. Ybor City hemp delivery service What we know: Chillum Mushroom and Hemp Dispensary in Ybor City signed a two-year contract with DoorDash to deliver certain hemp-derived THC products, including edibles, directly to customers’ doors, according to owner Carlos Hermida. Hermida told FOX 13 he started the shop as a CBD store before expanding into intoxicating cannabinoids around 2020 or 2021. He said he saw delivery as an easier way to reach people who suffer from anxiety and find Ybor City too crowded or intimidating. "It’s a really simple process. We’ve got our tablet, an order comes in, we accept the order, the driver shows up. We have the order bagged up for them when they get here and they simply take it to their door," Hermida said. DoorDash is responsible for verifying a customer’s age to ensure the sale is legal, Hermida said. Federal hemp ban impact What we don't know: It remains unclear whether Chillum Dispensary will formally hold a clearance sale before the deadline or how much total inventory the shop still needs to move. It is unclear how the two-year DoorDash contract will be affected once intoxicating hemp products become illegal to sell. Tampa dispensary inventory deadline What's next: Congress moved to close a federal loophole, pushing the ban on intoxicating hemp products back a month from Thursday to Dec. 11, according to Hermida. He said the upcoming ban is already affecting the shop’s retail register with credit cards, requiring them to use cash only for sales until a newly-ordered new register arrives. Hermida said he did not foresee a federal ban becoming a challenge when signing the delivery contract, despite previous statewide pushback on THC hemp. "They’re controversial. That’s really what this ban was about is the intoxicating THC side of things," said Hermida. "If I have to take the products off of my shelf it’s going to impact us greatly. Pretty much everything I’m surrounded by right now." If hemp products remain on Chillum Dispensary’s shelves on Dec. 12, selling them would be against the law, and Hermida said the shop will have to destroy the remaining inventory. He added the business is trying to sell as much as possible and might hold a sale leading up to the ban. The Source: The information in this story was gathered by FOX 13’s Briona Arradondo, who interviewed Chillum Dispensary owner Carlos Hermida about the business’s DoorDash partnership and the upcoming federal hemp ban. Tampa Politics