The North Carolina Senate is moving quickly on legislation that would impose new restrictions on hemp-derived THC products, including a ban on the sale of certain drinks and edibles to those under 21.
Hemp field.
The Senate Standing Committee on Health Care is scheduled to vote on the proposal Tuesday morning, with lawmakers aiming to pass the measure before adjourning later this month.
The legislation would replace House Bill 328, a more modest bill approved earlier in the session that banned Delta-8 and Delta-9 THC on school grounds. Senate Republicans say the update is necessary to rein in an increasingly unregulated market.
“Stores selling hemp products are popping up in towns across North Carolina, and children are getting ahold of these products,” said Senate President Phil Berger. “We cannot continue to let our state be the Wild West when it comes to hemp.”
If approved, the proposal would require businesses to obtain a license to sell hemp products and would establish testing requirements and potency caps for Delta-9 THC. Packaging would also be subject to new rules, including limits on child-appealing designs and mandatory label disclosures.
Delta-8—often derived from legal hemp—has similar effects to cannabis-derived delta-9 THC. Though hemp remains legal under federal and state law when it contains less than 0.3% Delta-9 THC, manufacturers have been able to extract and concentrate THC compounds to create intoxicating products that remain technically legal under current rules.
Senator Amy Galey said the lack of regulation has “led to a wide-open market with harmful consequences,” including instances of children requiring emergency care after ingesting THC-laced gummies.
The renewed push for regulation comes as Governor Josh Stein’s new cannabis task force begins exploring options for broader THC oversight and the potential legalization of marijuana. Stein recently noted that North Carolina’s lack of regulation has created one of the loosest marijuana markets in the country, despite the plant remaining illegal.
Meanwhile, public support for medical marijuana remains strong. A WRAL poll earlier this year found that 70% of voters favor legalizing it—a measure that has repeatedly passed the Senate but failed to gain traction in the House.
