ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Hemp retailers across Asheville say a newly approved federal measure could wipe out most of their industry, leaving storefronts shuttered, workers jobless and customers without products many rely on for pain and anxiety relief.
A ban on most hemp-based cannabinoid products is scheduled to take effect in November 2026 under a provision tucked into the Agriculture appropriations bill passed as part of the deal to end the federal government shutdown. The measure limits hemp products — including CBD — to no more than 0.4 milligrams of THC per container, a threshold business owners say is impossible to meet and would make nearly all existing products illegal.
Hampering hemp
“It is a death sentence to the industry,” said Zach, co-owner of Clover CBD Dispensary in Asheville. “Dispensaries and hemp companies will not be able to pivot or adjust to comply with that limit. Hemp businesses like ours will simply have to shut down.”
Zach said even full-spectrum CBD products, which contain trace amounts of THC but are widely considered more effective than CBD isolate, would no longer be allowed. With no customer demand for isolate-only items, he said the ban could collapse what he described as a “10-plus-billion-dollar industry” and threaten more than 300,000 jobs.
Clover CBD, which promotes its locally staffed shop as focused on “knowledgeable and compassionate service,” said it is still planning its outreach to lawmakers but believes the legislation amounts to a near-total prohibition.
“Full-Spectrum CBD products will be illegal once the grace period ends,” Zach said.
The impact would be similarly sweeping at Apotheca, a multistate plant-medicine dispensary offering CBD, Delta-8, hemp, kratom and other herbal products.
“It would remove 95% or more of our current inventory,” said Josh Lardie, Apotheca’s chief compliance officer. “Even full-spectrum CBD has trace amounts of THC. Long term, that same CBD would not be possible to make, since intermediaries of those products would also be federally illegal.”
Lardie said the company’s 400-plus employees could face layoffs as store closures become “imminent,” and customers would lose access to products they have come to rely on.
Lardie said he has reached out to local lawmakers, who, he says, expressed sympathy and concern about the economic fallout of such a broad ban.
Apotheca is now focusing on educating customers and urging them to contact federal and local representatives. But Lardie acknowledged the company may be forced to close stores if Congress does not shift toward regulation rather than prohibition.
“Ultimately, if we cannot seek relief through true regulations, we will have to lay off employees and close doors,” Lardie said. “Granny won’t have her gummies anymore.”
Hemp and marijuana come from the same cannabis plant but are distinguished largely by THC content, with hemp containing only trace amounts. CBD does not produce intoxication but is widely used for calming effects and for treating pain and anxiety.
Now, with the federal rules poised to tighten dramatically, Asheville’s hemp shops say the future of their shelves — and their survival — is suddenly in doubt.