After a day of competing pressure from law enforcement and hundreds of hemp supporters, the North Carolina House took no action Tuesday on a proposal that would outlaw popular THC drinks, gummies, and vapes while setting a minimum purchasing age of 21 for hemp-derived consumable products.
House Bill 328, Regulate Hemp-Derived Consumables, remained in the House Rules Committee Tuesday evening after lawmakers left it off the day’s calendar. The Senate adopted the conference report 37-6 on July 2, but the House must approve the same agreement before it can go to Gov. Josh Stein.
The bill would prohibit finished hemp-derived consumable products containing more than 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container. It would also outlaw products containing synthetic or chemically converted cannabinoids.
The restrictions would remove most THC beverages, gummies, vapes, delta-8 products, and THCA flower from North Carolina’s legal market beginning Nov. 12. The bill would separately prohibit the sale or delivery of any hemp-derived consumable product to someone younger than 21 and bar underage possession.
Tuesday’s inaction extended the House’s initial hesitation over the proposal.
HB 328 began as a narrow measure prohibiting hemp products on school property. The House unanimously approved that version in April 2025 before the Senate expanded it to address the broader hemp market.
The House voted 95-18 in April not to accept the Senate rewrite, sending the bill to a conference committee. When the Senate approved the final agreement in July, House Republicans declined to take it up before leaving Raleigh.
House Speaker Destin Hall acknowledged Tuesday that the current law is unsustainable but said lawmakers remain divided over how to fix it.
“Folks recognize that the current state of our law is not tenable,” Hall told reporters. “There are basically no rules. Things being sold that shouldn’t be. Things being sold to kids that shouldn’t be sold. The question is what to do about it.”
Hall said he plans to appoint a small group of lawmakers to study the issue and return with new proposals before the end of the year.
“There’s a general will, I think, nearly unanimously, to do something on it,” Hall said. “And that’s probably across both parties. A lot of disagreement, though, about what to do.”
The disagreement prompted an intense lobbying campaign as representatives returned to Raleigh for what could be their final days of voting before the November election.
Hemp-business owners gathered Monday at Tap Yard in Raleigh to urge lawmakers to regulate the industry rather than outlaw most of its products. Reilly Dunn of Groovewagon warned that the proposed THC limit would quickly end many businesses.
“This would put us out of business in November, overnight,” Dunn said. “It would be like if you said, ‘We’re not banning beer, you can still have 0.1% ABV.’ That’s a ban.”
Participants said they support a minimum purchasing age, third-party testing, child-resistant packaging, clear labels, and licensing requirements.
That effort moved inside the Legislative Building on Tuesday, when hundreds of hemp-business owners, employees, consumers, and advocates filled the hallways and sought meetings with lawmakers.
Their arguments echoed a letter circulated by North Carolina Hemp Businesses for Responsible Regulation and signed by more than 80 manufacturers, distributors, breweries, restaurants, bars, retailers, and other businesses.
The coalition estimated that North Carolina’s hemp industry generates $3.2 billion annually and supports 16,000 jobs.
“0.4mg THC per container wipes out 95% of ALL consumable hemp products, including most non-intoxicating ones,” the businesses wrote.
The coalition urged lawmakers to establish age restrictions and other regulations while preserving access to adult products.
“We urge the House to reject HB 328 and further urge our state legislature to enact COMMON-SENSE hemp laws and regulations,” the letter said. “Because prohibition only moves demand underground and worsens public health and safety.”
Law enforcement officials and supportive Republican lawmakers held their own press conference Tuesday morning, arguing that immediate action is necessary.
Several dozen sheriffs, police chiefs, prosecutors, and other officials attended the event. Rep. Reece Pyrtle, R-Rockingham, displayed brightly packaged gummies and other products that he said he purchased near the Legislative Building.
Pyrtle said the store clerk warned him, “Be really careful if you take these.”
Rep. Jimmy Dixon, R-Duplin, also blamed lawmakers for creating the current market through earlier hemp legislation.
“Several misguided Republicans in the House,” Dixon said. “Misguided. Good people, but deceived.”
The press conference followed a July 27 memorandum from seven law enforcement and criminal justice organizations calling the conference report a “high priority.”
The memorandum came from the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association, the North Carolina Association of Chiefs of Police, the North Carolina Police Executives Association, the State Bureau of Investigation, the State Highway Patrol, Alcohol Law Enforcement, and the North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys.
The groups rejected criticism that the proposal appeared unexpectedly near the end of the legislative session.
“Do not be fooled by those attempting to tell you that this conference report is bad or contains some hidden trick because it appeared ‘all of a sudden’ at the end of session,” the organizations wrote. “That is not true.”
They pointed to previous bills addressing hemp products and argued that lawmakers have repeatedly debated how to close gaps in state law.
The groups also warned that failing to act would leave minors free to purchase potentially intoxicating products.
“Let us be clear, failing to adopt this conference report means that anyone, no matter their age, will continue to be able to buy intoxicating THC products from any retailer that wishes to sell them without legal consequence in North Carolina,” the organizations wrote.
It ended with a broader criticism of businesses and advocates opposing the conference report.
“The only people and businesses who would oppose this conference report are those who are profiting from, and promoting a business model that thrives on, selling intoxicating substances to North Carolina’s children,” the groups wrote.
Business owners at the legislature rejected that characterization. They argued that responsible retailers already limit sales to adults and that the bill would punish the broader industry rather than target businesses selling products to minors.
Stein also criticized the current unregulated market on Tuesday, but said the conference report does not provide the right solution. He called for a regulated adult market with stronger protections for children, accurate labels, and product safety standards.
The state debate comes as the future of a similar federal restriction remains uncertain.
Congress approved a 0.4-milligram federal limit in November 2025, with the change scheduled to take effect on Nov. 12. The White House has since asked Congress to revise or delay the restriction, while bipartisan federal legislation would replace or postpone it.
HB 328 would ensure that a change in Washington does not automatically preserve the products in North Carolina.
Beyond hemp, the legislation would regulate kratom, prohibit synthetic kratom products, add xylazine to the state’s Schedule III controlled substances, and make other updates to the Controlled Substances Act.
Because conference reports cannot be amended on the House floor, representatives must either adopt the Senate-approved agreement or send lawmakers back to negotiate.
The bill’s immediate future remains uncertain. If the House leaves Raleigh without acting, the bill would remain eligible for consideration during November’s post-election sessions, pushing the debate into a less predictable political environment.
