How Hemp-THC businesses are bracing for a near total ban
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What is the federal loophole that allowed THC‑derived hemp products and why is it under threat?
NPR.
Recreational weed is legal in half of all the U.S. states. But even in places where it's not, you'll still see smoke shops and liquor stores selling things with that signature star-shaped leaf.
THC drinks, vapes, edibles, all of those are legal because of a loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill that bipartisan legislation allowed a low level of THC derived from hemp.
Yeah, but when it's treated in a lab, that low level of THC can end up mimicking the effects of weed.
Right. That's how we got Delta 8, Delta 9. I think we're up to Delta 11 now.
Probably we'll never see Delta 12.
Much like the Fast and Furious franchise. But instead of an aging cast and a desperate need for new ideas, this collapse is all on the government. Because Congress is putting an end to that loophole with a harsher ban on THC.
This is The Indicator from Planet Money. I'm Adrian Ma. And today I'm joined by Mariana Bacayau, a reporter from WPLN in Nashville. Hey there.
Hi.
How did Tennessee’s July ban on hemp‑derived THC products change everyday life for farmers and retailers?
Great to be here. And yeah, that ban will mean an end to the hemp industry's most popular products. That's a $28 billion industry that could be gone by the end of the year. A lot of businesses are having to make hard choices.
So on today's show, we're taking a trip to Tennessee, where a recent state ban on basically all those hemp-derived THC products has impacted everyone from retailers to farmers.
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This is Ira Glass. On This American Life, we tell stories about when things change. Like for this guy, David, whose entire life took a sharp, unexpected, and very unpleasant turn. And it did take me a while to realize it's basically because the monkey pressed the button. That's right.
Why are Tennessee hemp growers like Lee Crabtree switching to blackberries and corn, and how is it affecting their income?
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So, Mariana, you're from a state that's already gotten a taste of an economy with the deltas pulled off the shelf.
Right. Here in Tennessee, a ban on most THC hemp products took effect in July. So we're already kind of living in a post-hemp world. Last year, lawmakers here got ahead of Congress by banning full-spectrum CBD and things like smokable flour.
Smokable flours? I have an image in my head of what that is, but I'm picturing somebody, like, just, like, lighting up a daffodil.
Not quite. It
looks a
little bit closer to what you would think of when you think of just regular weed. It's a type of hemp flower. When you light it, it mimics the effects of weed.
Got it.
What concerns do state lawmakers have about consumer safety, and how do they justify the new regulations?
Anyway, hemp has been a cash crop for a lot of farmers there.
Take Lee Crabtree. I met up with him on his farm in Reedyville, Tennessee. He told me that he's had to return to growing more traditional seasonal crops like blackberries. He picks a big one off the vine.
It's hard to tell when they're exactly ripe. Usually when the flies are eating it, you know it's sweet.
Much of Lee's farm had been devoted to a CBD variety of hemp. But that new state law has made selling his products illegal. So where there were once rows of hemp, Lee now has blackberries and corn.
Hoping that it sells good.
And inside, Lee still has an industrial kitchen from when he made his own CBD goodies. Now, his wife Stacey is using the large stainless steel counter to chop grapes for her chicken salad.
In the months leading up to the THC ban, she started selling her chicken salad and pimento cheese sandwiches at a farmer's market up the road.
Stacey likes to cook. I don't know how much longer she liked to cook when she has to do it all the time.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the federal loophole that allowed THC‑derived hemp products and why is it under threat?
0:00–1:10
2
How did Tennessee’s July ban on hemp‑derived THC products change everyday life for farmers and retailers?
1:10–2:20
3
Why are Tennessee hemp growers like Lee Crabtree switching to blackberries and corn, and how is it affecting their income?
2:20–3:29
4
What concerns do state lawmakers have about consumer safety, and how do they justify the new regulations?
3:29–4:41
5
How are hemp companies such as Burning Acre relocating to other states to survive the ban?
4:41–6:08
6
What would a nationwide December ban mean for the $28 billion hemp industry and state tax revenues?
6:08–7:35
7
How is Congress responding to the looming ban and what delays have been proposed?
7:35–8:51
8
What new opportunities are emerging for farmers growing fiber hemp after the ban?
8:51–10:34