The federal ban on hemp-derived THC is looming. While some of the larger cannabis market players like Trulieve will be more insulated from the impact, smaller operators could bear much more of the brunt.
The CEO of a major cannabis company is warning that the regulatory change, which goes into effect in November 2026, could push smaller hemp THC makers to extremes.
Speaking with CNBC, Curaleaf CEO Boris Jordan, whose cannabis company also sells hemp-derived THC beverages, said that the rising popularity of THC products combined with federal prohibition on cannabis THC, and soon hemp-derived THC, could drive some companies toward the black market.
“What this ban is going to do is it’s going to force all those little players right now into the illegal market,” Jordan said. “Companies have got way too much money invested in this and the demand is still there and growing. They [companies] aren’t just going to go away, they’re just going to go into the illicit market and put more people at risk.”
Cronos Group CEO Michael Gorenstein agreed.
“There’s a lot of the small retailers, small businesses and farmers that are relying on hemp sales to survive,” he told CNBC. “It’s going to create a lot of pressure when they start losing business, losing jobs and losing crops.”
In a summary, the Senate Appropriations Committee said the hemp products ban "prevents the unregulated sale of intoxicating hemp-based or hemp-derived products, including Delta-8, from being sold online, in gas stations, and corner stores, while preserving non-intoxicating CBD and industrial hemp products."
The language would largely dismantle the U.S. intoxicating hemp market, which has grown into a $28 billion industry that supports 329,000 American jobs and contributes $1.5 billion annually in tax revenue.
