Why North Carolina's Hemp Industry Is Urging the House to Reject HB 328

The North Carolina hemp industry is at a critical point. The Conference Report for House Bill 328, also termed “Regulate Hemp-Derived Consumables,” if approved, will end large parts of the state's legal hemp market. This would be a devastating blow to the NC farmers, small business owners, veterans, and everyday consumers. The bill is one House vote away from reaching NC Governor Josh Stein’s desk and getting signed to become a law.

What is this bill that has sparked months of debate, amendments, and discussion among farmers, retailers, and everyday consumers? There are solid reasons why North Carolina’s hemp industry is demanding an alternative hemp regulatory bill instead of the Conference Report for HB 328, which is a hemp ban bill disguised as a regulatory bill. 

What Is HB 328?

HB 328 was sponsored by Reps. Carla Cunningham (D-Mecklenburg) and Republicans Donny Lambeth (Forsyth), Donnie Loftis (Gaston), and Larry Potts (Davidson). Its original intent was to ban hemp products on school grounds. Later on, the bill got amended in the Senate. 

HB 328’s Main Points

Over more than a year, the bill grew into a much larger regulatory overhaul covering age limits, THC content, licensing, and enforcement. The bill’s final conference report lists items such as the following:

• Raising the legal purchase age for hemp-derived consumables and kratom to 21. It would also be unlawful for anyone under 21 to possess such a product. Violations would be classified as Class 2 misdemeanors.

• Limiting THC levels to 0.4 milligrams per container in drinks and edibles.

• Proposing civil penalties for underage sales and selling prohibited products.

It is important to note that the NC Hemp Industry has long supported an age restriction of 21+. The Conference Report for H328 goes far beyond just an age restriction. It bans the products that would be subject to an age restriction in the first section of the bill. 

The Bill’s Current Status

The Senate has already adopted the conference report by a wide, bipartisan margin. The House, however, has not yet taken a final vote. Lawmakers are expected to take it up again when the House reconvenes. The age restriction is set to arrive first, with the THC and product-content rules following later this year.

Why Is The Hemp Industry Opposing HB 328?

The hemp industry is fearing the imposition of HB 328. This is because many business owners, farmers, and advocacy groups argue the bill's THC limit is so low that it would eliminate nearly every product currently on shelves, not just the intoxicating ones critics want to target.

The 0.4mg total THC per container limit will most likely prohibit most of the currently legal hemp products in North Carolina, including non-intoxicating full-spectrum CBD products.

The Numbers Behind the NC Hemp Industry

A 2026 Whitney Economics analysis puts a scale on what is at risk of termination with this bill’s approval. North Carolina's hemp sector alone supports more than 16,000 jobs, generating about $702.5 million in wages, with an estimated $3.2 billion in annual industry revenue. The report also estimates hemp retail activity accounts for roughly $87.8 million in annual state sales tax revenue, spread across an estimated 2,197 hemp storefronts statewide.

Response Of Retailers

Some retailers warn that the coming rule would effectively end their ability to operate. Small businesses, retailers, and farmers will get the full impact of drastic changes. Failure to adapt would risk fines and criminal liability. Jack Sherrie, CEO of Delta Beverages, went as far as to say that the bill was disguised as regulating THC products, when in reality what it will do is eliminate them.

The Industry's Counter-Proposal

Those who oppose HB 328 are not asking lawmakers to walk away from regulation altogether. They are asking for rules that separate genuinely intoxicating products from full spectrum CBD and other non-intoxicating goods. All parties involved support commonsense regulation, including age limits, product testing, labeling standards, reasonable serving sizes, and enforcement against bad actors.

The NC Hemp Industry has been trying to work with legislators since 2022 on comprehensive regulations to restrict the sale to 21yrs and up, require licensing of retailers, manufacturers, and distributors, third party testing with verifiable COAs, reasonable serving size limits, and even support an excise tax on products sold at retail. 

Lawmakers Defend the Crackdown

Not everyone in the General Assembly sees the bill as an overreach. Supporters argue the current market has operated with almost no oversight, with real, devastating consequences for families. Senate Leader Phil Berger told reporters, “The personal loss that has occurred across the state of North Carolina as a result of these products is such that we just could not and should not delay any further. We have gotten to such a point where doing nothing was not an option.”

The Black Market Risk

Sudden, highly strict bans tend to push consumers toward unregulated and unsafe black markets rather than eliminating demand. A sudden absence of licensed and tested products on legal shelves will automatically force NC buyers to turn to unregulated sellers online or out of state, where there is no age verification and no accountability.

Who Stands to Lose The Most With HB 328’s Approval?

Supporters of HB 328 talk only about the bill in terms of school safety and age limits, without looking beyond it. The people closest to the industry describe a much wider circle of harm, one that reaches well past retail shelves.

Farmers

North Carolina's hemp farmers have invested their years, building a sustainable agricultural model. Most of them have often transitioned away from tobacco. HB 328 would instantly collapse demand for their crops, leading to farm closures, lost income, and economic instability.

Small, Family-Owned Businesses

The NC hemp industry is rooted in hard work by farmers, veterans, and family-owned small businesses across the state. A near-complete ban on hemp-derived products would put that progress, and the local jobs tied to it, in jeopardy. Unlike large corporations, these businesses don’t have ample resources to adapt to sweeping bans.

Veterans and the Chronically Ill

From veterans managing PTSD to people living with chronic pain, thousands of North Carolinians rely on hemp-derived products as part of their daily wellness routines. For many, these products are not a lifestyle choice but a daily necessity. HB 328 would cut off access to them.

What Is The Path Forward?

A more workable bill for industry stakeholders and consumers would focus on age limits, reasonable serving size limits,proper testing, and licensing. The hemp industry stakeholders want a clear-cut bill that focuses on age limits, reasonable serving sizes, proper testing, and licensing. HB 328 does discuss age limits, but there exists a significant gap between framing and effect. The actual language of the bill goes far beyond the age limit concept. It is a ban bill being sold to members of the legislature as an age restriction.  

The Gap Between the Bill's Framing and Its Effect

There exists a huge gap between the bill's title and public description and the scope of what its text would actually do. Thus, a new bill is needed that clearly separates intoxicating synthetic cannabinoids from low-THC, non-intoxicating hemp products, while still satisfying the concerns of the hemp industry.

The Weeks Ahead

All eyes are now on the North Carolina House. If the NC House’s members vote in support of the conference report for H328 when they reconvene, the bill heads to Governor Stein. If the House rejects it, HB 328 could die for this session. 

The hemp industry is urging the lawmakers to reject the conference report for H328 as it undermines the production and sale of the majority of  hemp-derived consumable products, including non-intoxicating full spectrum CBD products.NC’s hemp sector wants a bill that pursues a regulatory approach with clear age-restriction, reasonable serving sizes, testing standards, and licensing instead.

For hemp farmers, small businesses, veterans, and patients across North Carolina, the coming weeks will decide whether the state's legal hemp market survives in anything close to its current form. This is because HB 328 is a ban bill that uses some regulatory terms but practically eliminates the whole hemp sector, from farmers to small retailers.