NC Hemp Bill Could Ban Most THC Products

NC is expediting the hemp ban. 

Hemp-derived beverages, gummies and other cannabis products are having a high in Raleigh. But soon, hemp could disappear from NC shelves for good—and the multibillion dollar industry may be toppled at the hands of the NC General Assembly.  

HB 328, which now awaits action from Gov. Josh Stein, contains legislation that would dramatically restrict hemp-derived THC products by adopting the same definition included in the federal ban set to take effect Nov. 12. 

Rather than limiting hemp by percentage of THC, the new standard would cap products at just 0.4 milligrams of total THC per package—a threshold industry advocates say would eliminate nearly every hemp product currently on the market.

But whereas the federal government gave business owners and users a years’ notice, NC is fast-tracking the ban. Read: If the bill becomes law, the ban will immediately take effect. 

While Congress continues debating whether the federal restrictions should be delayed or revised before November, the NC hemp bill would write those standards into state law—meaning the limits could remain in place here even if federal lawmakers ultimately change course.

That said, Rep. Donny Lambeth, one of the bill’s primary sponsors, said they’re still taking a measured approach. “One of the issues in reviewing this bill is frankly not moving too fast, so we know more about what the federal changes are going to be and [if we should] wait to see what policy changes they mandate,” he says.

Since the 2018 Farm Bill, hemp-derived products have become a substantial part of the local economy in the Triangle, with specialty retailers, bottle shops, breweries and wellness stores alike investing in or creating products that could quickly become illegal to sell under the proposed standard. 

Under HB 328, many businesses would have little room to reformulate existing offerings, leaving owners to attempt to overhaul their inventory or potentially rethink their business models altogether.

NC Hemp Shoppe general manager Brandon Chavez says a hemp ban would not only jeopardize local businesses and subtract millions of dollars of economic activity, but it would take away informed adults’ freedom to choose legal, regulated products. “Regulation protects consumers,” Chavez maintains. “Prohibition simply pushes demand into markets the state cannot supervise.”

Fellow local business owner John Bocella of The Hemp Company similarly supports what he calls “sensible” regulation, but remains concerned with the approach lawmakers are taking. He notes that during the last three years, the NC hemp industry has been attempting to get myriad hemp regulations on the books, including a 21-plus age restriction, child-resistant packaging and third-party testing. 

“These regulations were introduced and all died in the Senate Rules committee,” he says. “[Now], HB 328 would ban 99% of the products on our shelves, except topical CBD products, and every other retail shelf in NC. It would eliminate the jobs of our 14 full-time employees and almost 20,000 other North Carolinians.”

Supporters of the legislation say tighter restrictions are necessary to curb youth access and close loopholes that have allowed intoxicating hemp products to proliferate with limited oversight. Now, Stein’s signature will ultimately decide the fate of the NC hemp industry—and the businesses built around it.