Congress votes to ban many hemp products as part of the deal to end the government shutdown

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Hemp gummies, topicals, drinks and more will soon be snatched from shelves as a part of the deal to end the government shutdown.

The provision that significantly limits the sale of hemp products was slipped into the legislation to reopen the government a day before the Senate voted to approve the bill.

“It would be detrimental to our industry,” Mike Sims, owner of Crowntown Cannabis said. “There is no way of survival if this remains.”

Products with less than 0.3% THC were legalized to grow and sell in the 2018 Farm Bill. The measure would re-define hemp preventing the sale of many products you see on shelves at smoke shops, gas stations and other retail stores.

“This is not regulation. This is prohibition. This is re-criminalizing something that has been decriminalized since 2018,” Sims said. “We’ve had almost eight years to build this industry from the ground up.”

Thirty-nine Attorneys General including North and South Carolina signed a letter to Congress asking them to clearly define hemp and close the loophole. The letter says the products are sold nationwide without age restrictions, labeling standards or safety requirements.

At Crowntown Cannabis Sims says his business takes the steps to sell to only adults with clearly labeled packaging. He says he supports common sense regulations, but says this measure will send people back to the black market.

“The ripple effects will affect us all,” Sims said. “I an already struggling economy where it’s hard for job growth. I think we’re going to we’re going to see a true impacts that would devastate our economy here in North Carolina as well as federally.”

Hemp Industry and Farmers of America released a statement saying this would impact thousands of small businesses and farmer while also killing more than 325,000 jobs. The industry also added this does not address the age restriction or safety issues saying in part, “The industry calls upon Congress and the Trump administration to reverse this reckless betrayal and implement a common-sense, AMERICA FIRST solution in the coming days.”