Tennessee lawmakers push two measures to restrict intoxicating hemp sales channels

Two bills filed in the Tennessee Legislature could significantly reshape the state’s hemp industry. One proposal, sponsored by Republican Rep. Ed Butler, seeks to ban smokable hemp flower products, including THCa flower, which when heated produces effects similar to marijuana.

Butler described the bill as a response to what he called a “public health crisis” stemming from intoxicating hemp products, which are widely available in common retail outlets and often marketed to children.

A second bill would transfer regulatory authority over intoxicating hemp sales to the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC). This measure would limit sales to age-restricted venues, ban online sales by retailers, and impose a wholesale tax of one cent per milligram on hemp products. Republican Sen. Richard Briggs, who introduced the measure, said the TABC is better equipped to enforce compliance, drawing on its experience regulating alcohol.

Industry shakeup looming?

If Butler’s ban passes, Tennessee’s hemp retailers may no longer sell smokable hemp products, including both psychoactive THCa flower and non-intoxicating CBD flower. Current state law, established in 2023, allowed THCa products through regulatory loopholes, complicating efforts to differentiate between legal hemp and illegal marijuana.

Law enforcement officials have described the situation as a challenge for policing. “Back in the day, if it looked like a duck, walked like a duck, then it was a duck,” Tommy Farmer, director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s Dangerous Drug Task Force told the Chattanooga Times Free Press. “With these changes in definitions, it turned everybody on their ears.”

Judicial developments

The legislative proposals follow legal disputes over recent state rules aimed at banning hemp products with combined levels of THCa and delta-9 THC. Attorneys for hemp producers secured an injunction earlier this week, temporarily keeping THCa products legal until June 5.

Growers argue that banning smokable hemp would devastate the industry, which relies on THCa flower for up to 90% of sales. Meanwhile, legal analysts warn that the state’s evolving regulatory landscape may push more consumers toward unregulated black-market cannabis.

Public opinion in Tennessee continues to shift, with polls showing more than half of voters in Hamilton County supporting recreational marijuana legalization. At least one legislative proposal this session seeks to legalize and regulate adult-use cannabis statewide.

As lawmakers debate new restrictions, Tennessee’s hemp industry faces an uncertain future with possible dramatic changes to its product offerings and sales model.