Gov. Gavin Newsom has set off a surge of “panic buying” hemp after his announcement earlier this month that he’s attempting to outlaw all hemp THC products, a category of cannabis sold outside of licensed marijuana stores.

The emergency ban could hit Californians as early as Thursday, outlawing the sale of any product that contains THC outside of a legal marijuana store. Currently, hemp THC products are sold widely through online retailers, liquor stores and convenience stores.

Californians who rely on hemp products to treat a wide range of medical conditions, including severe epilepsy, appear to be the customers who are most concerned about the ban. Paige Figi, a nationwide hemp advocate and founder of a hemp company, said some California families are 'panic buying' thousands of dollars of hemp products before the ban goes into effect.

“I know people who have cleared their bank accounts,” Figi told SFGATE on Monday. “These are veterans and first responders and moms of very sick kids. They don’t have the money to spend on these things.”

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FILE: A sign in a Virginia hemp farm to dissuade thieves from stealing the plants, which look exactly like marijuana.

Newsom’s Department of Public Health filed the emergency ban on hemp THC, which includes a strict definition barring any product with a “detectable amount of total THC,” with the Office of Administrative Law earlier this month. OAL can either approve or deny the emergency ban depending on whether the agency believes the rule meets the statutory requirements of emergency rulemaking. An OAL spokesperson, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told SFGATE it could be approved as early as Thursday of this week.

California’s........

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