The war on hemp
Last August, I wrote a post warning of the potential federal ban on full-spectrum CBD products. A number of you have expressed concern and wondered what the current situation is, so I thought it was high time for an update. If you’d like to read the original post, you can see it here.
The US Farm Bill
A recap: in 2018, the US Farm Bill removed hemp from the Controlled Substances Act, decriminalizing it and enabling the sale of CBD products nationwide. The CBD industry exploded; in just a few years, CBD went from an obscure substance only available in a few states to one of the most popular supplements in the country. Congress typically renews the Farm Bill every five years. The current Farm Bill expired in October 2023, and Congress has since passed two one-year extensions.
Last fall, an amendment to the Farm Bill was introduced which, if passed into law, would remove all full-spectrum CBD products from the definition of hemp, crippling the CBD industry. Full-spectrum CBD products would be considered marijuana products. No more picking up your CBD at the farmers market or health food store, and no more buying it online. Full spectrum CBD would only be available at cannabis dispensaries in legal states. Thankfully, the amendment was not voted on by the full House, and the Farm Bill was extended for another year.
NEW KID ON THE BLOCK: INTOXICATING HEMP PRODUCTS
In the past few years, intoxicating hemp-derived products began arriving on the scene. These products are technically legal, even though they contain high levels of THC, because they are manufactured with federally legal hemp. The small amounts of THC naturally present in the hemp plant can be refined and concentrated to create high-THC products. Many intoxicating hemp products are made with delta-8 THC, a slightly milder version of THC which is manufactured with CBD isolate.
These products are not limited to dispensaries and are widely available in many states, even though they can get you as high as any regulated dispensary product. They tend to be highly processed, may not be tested, are often inaccurately labeled, and often contain undisclosed synthetic cannabinoids or other chemicals. The packaging is sometimes designed to appeal to children, and it can be difficult to see at a glance that these are cannabis products. Bad news!
STATES TAKE ACTION
In the absence of updated federal legislation, some states are pushing back against these unregulated hemp-derived THC products. Vermont, my home state, quietly banned delta-8 and other manufactured or synthetic cannabinoids years ago, before there were any delta-8 products on the market. Currently, at least 19 states have some sort of pending legislation which could restrict or ban hemp products.
While I’m not a fan of prohibition (it certainly didn’t work for alcohol, and the “war on drugs” has been an unmitigated disaster), I am in favor of regulating intoxicating hemp products. But some of the legislation goes far, far beyond that and restricts availability of natural, full-spectrum CBD products - like the ones I make.
Full-spectrum CBD contains trace amounts of THC; not enough to get you high, but enough to bother some conservative legislators. Full-spectrum CBD is much, much more effective than CBD isolate, which undergoes intensive processing to separate the CBD from all other compounds in the plant.
(Statute is notoriously difficult to read, and some of these bills contain seemingly contradictory statements that I can’t understand. If any of you are legal scholars, please feel free to correct me if I made any mistakes!)
CALIFORNIA
In September 2024, Governor Gavin Newsom enacted emergency regulations that require hemp products sold outside dispensaries to contain “no detectable amount of total THC”. This means that you can no longer legally buy full-spectrum hemp products in health food stores, farmers markets, or any other regular retail outlets - you would have to go to a cannabis dispensary. Only highly processed CBD isolate is legally available in regular stores, and isolate is much, much less effective than full spectrum products.
TEXAS
Texas SB 3 would ban all cannabinoids except for CBD and CBG isolates and set license fees at $10,000/year for manufacturers and $20,000/year for retailers. How many stores would be willing to pay $20,000 every year just to be allowed to sell CBD isolate and CBG isolate? Not too many, I’m guessing. SB 3 also criminalizes shipping any cannabinoids to Texas, so ordering online would no longer be an option. Texas has not legalized recreational cannabis, so the sale of full-spectrum CBD would be restricted to patients with a medical marijuana card. SB3 has now passed through the House and the Senate and is awaiting the Governor’s signature.
ALABAMA
HB 445 passed in May; now products containing CBD or any other cannabinoid can only be sold in liquor stores, dedicated hemp stores, or licensed pharmacies. Hemp products sold in Alabama must be derived from hemp grown within the state. Shipping of CBD products into Alabama is prohibited after January 1st, 2026.
ALASKA
Alaska considers any CBD product with any amount of THC to be marijuana, so full-spectrum CBD is only available in dispensaries.
OHIO, MONTANA, & ARKANSAS
Ohio’s SB 86 and Montana’s HB 49 would limit THC to 2mg per container, restricting the sale of naturally produced, full spectrum CBD products to dispensaries. Bills in Arkansas (SB 533 and HB 445) would limit THC content to 1mg per container.
Because the hemp plant always contains some level of THC, CBD oil would have to undergo intensive processing to contain such low levels of THC. These bills would require THC content to be so low that naturally produced full spectrum CBD products would be limited to dispensaries. In Arkansas, you would need a medical marijuana card to buy full spectrum CBD products.
A separate Arkansas bill SB 605, would impose a 50% excise tax on CBD and other hemp products. In practical terms, this would increase the cost of a $40 bottle of CBD oil to $60.
IMPACT ON CBD AVAILABILITY
But weed is legal in some of these states, right? Anyone can just walk into a dispensary and buy whatever they want, so what’s the big deal? Well, this is not as simple as it seems. Companies cannot just switch from selling CBD products to selling recreational or medical cannabis products. If I wished to do so, I would need:
A new state license (in some states these are very competitive to get and can cost $10,000/year)
New insurance (also very expensive)
A new payment processor (if I could find one; many cannabis businesses are cash-only because payment processors are so reluctant to work with the cannabis industry)
Possibly a new bank (many banks are not cannabis-friendly)
New childproof packaging
I would no longer be able to sell my products online, at farmers markets or craft shows, and in nearly all the stores which carry my products. My products would only be available in dispensaries.
If you live in a state that restricts full-spectrum CBD to dispensaries, your options will be very limited. If you rely on a certain type of CBD product, it could take months for a similar product to become available in a dispensary near you. In some states, you would need to have a qualifying condition and get a medical card to be able to shop in a dispensary. And of course, cannabis is still illegal in several states; residents of those states would need to travel to a legal state to buy full spectrum CBD.
In dispensaries, customers are limited to products grown and manufactured in the state where the dispensary is located. No products can cross state lines. Shipping of recreational or medical cannabis products is prohibited.
Many small companies would be forced out of business because they don’t have the resources to comply with all the new requirements. The market would also shrink substantially; in my town, there are lots of stores which sell CBD, but only two cannabis dispensaries. A dispensary is unlikely to carry lots of different CBD brands, so many companies would be unable to find a place to sell their products. This would be the end of my business.
So, what are the consequences of these laws?
The public will have fewer options.
Products will be more expensive.
Many manufacturers and retailers will be driven out of business.
In some states, consumers will lose access to anything but highly processed CBD/CBG isolates.
People will be driven to the black market to access hemp products.
No one but a few bad actors want children to have access to fake Nerd Ropes or Skittles that have been sprayed with synthetic cannabinoids. By all means, let’s have some regulations in place! The hemp industry has been asking for regulation, but the FDA has refused to act, punting the responsibility back to Congress.
I have absolutely no problem with sensible regulations that would keep intoxicating products out of the hands of children. But let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Making naturally produced, full-spectrum CBD products more difficult to get than beer makes no sense at all, especially considering that cannabis is medicinal and, according to the DEA, no deaths have been reported from cannabis overdoses, while alcohol is responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths in the US every year.
THE FUTURE…?
Under the current administration, the future of the hemp and recreational cannabis industries is a mystery. Trump has voiced some support for medical marijuana and has supported cannabis rescheduling, but he has also opposed recreational legalization and gone on record saying that drug dealers should get the death penalty.
The Department of Health and Human Services and the Drug Enforcement Agency were taking steps to reschedule cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III, but that process seems to have stalled.
Attorney General Pam Bondi and acting director of the Drug Enforcement Agency Derek Maltz have historically been firmly opposed to cannabis reform - not a promising sign.
The Farm Bill is up for renewal this fall, and there are several other pending federal bills or amendments relating to cannabis. What will happen is anybody’s guess.