Local business owners say changes could ban THCA products across the city.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Hemp business owners across Charlotte are bracing for a major regulatory shake-up as a provision in the new federal spending bill threatens to outlaw many products currently on their shelves.
The legislation includes language that would redefine hemp and prevent the sale of products containing THCA and delta-8 THC, a change that could devastate local businesses and cut off access for thousands of consumers who rely on these products.
“To say it’s devastating is an understatement,” Michael Sims, the owner of Crowntown Cannabis in Charlotte, said.
The provision in the bill to reopen the government would eliminate a wide range of hemp-derived products, according to Sims, who said the impact extends beyond recreational use.
“That eliminates topicals, CBD oils, things like that that, you know, a lot of people use just for health reasons,” Sims said. “Even the smallest amounts of THC would be illegal on this.”
The proposed change would reverse key provisions of the 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized the sale of hemp-derived THC products containing less than 0.3% delta-9 THC by dry weight. That legislation opened the door for a booming industry of hemp-based products marketed for both wellness and recreational purposes.
Natacha Andrews, a professor of cannabis law and policy at Widener Law School in Delaware, said the impact would be far-reaching.
“People who needed this medicinally will suffer, people who have no other access, here in North Carolina, there is no other access to legal cannabis, will suffer,” Andrews said. “And it really will cause folks to have to completely restrategize, even if they’re in the farming industry, to a more agricultural” focus.
For Charlotte stores and the broader hemp industry, the stakes are significant. Sims said his business serves thousands of customers, many of whom depend on these products as alternatives to prescription medications or illicit drugs.
“We help thousands of people. Many of them are elderly. Many of them are former military suffering from PTSD and things like that,” Sims said. “We have cancer patients, epilepsy, Parkinson’s, so many people that depend on these products to be legal, to keep them off of prescription drugs or more illicit street drugs.”
The provision would not take effect immediately. Under the new measure, businesses would have one year to comply, unless Congress revisits the hemp issue during that period.
Despite the looming deadline, Sims said he has no plans to close.
“I have no intentions of shutting down. I’m in contact with many representatives, as well as other business owners in this industry,” Sims said. “All of us depend on this. We’ve got everything we have invested into this industry, into our businesses.”
The change could impact hemp retailers throughout the Charlotte region, forcing business owners to reconsider their product lines and potentially their entire business models in the coming months.
Contact Myles Harris at mharris5@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.
