As the prospects for rescheduling become more uncertain, operators from multiple states have been hedging by investing in the hemp sector of the cannabis industry. Hemp was legalized on a broad scale by the Farm Bill 2018.
To date, efforts to legalize hemp have not been successful. This is especially true since an update to the Farm Bill was delayed from 2023 to March. In the chaos of the Trump administration, a priority that was once high has now been put on the back burner.
Green Market Report Jim Higdon, co-founder of Cornbread Hemp, spoke recently about his Washington D.C. visit to see how the bill was progressing. The co-founder of Cornbread Hemp, Jim Higdon, said that he was disappointed by the lack of interest in conservative bans on hemp products.
Higdon warned, too, that the Farm Bill, which appears to have a low level of priority, could be extended once again and the existing rules would remain unchanged. This would maintain the lucrative and unregulated hemp market, which appeals to cannabis companies. Testing? Interstate commerce is not allowed? No extreme taxation? Why would MSOs not want to get a slice of the action?
Alliance Global Partners estimates that the hemp intoxicating beverage market alone has a market value of $13 Billion. As the products are not tracked or regulated, it is difficult to determine how much of them are sold in online shops or convenience stores. It’s easy to estimate that the market is already worth millions of dollars.
Hemp hemp hooray
Some of the top MSOs in the world have launched hemp-based brands. These are just a few.:
- Curaleaf has launched its new Select and Zero Proof brand of THC-derived hemp products. The products, which include gummies, seltzers, and other items, are sold directly to consumers through TheHempCompany.com.
- Organigram Holdings invested $2 million in March 2024 in Open Book Extracts, a North Carolina-based company that specializes in hemp-derived extracts and products. In January the company bought Motif Labs a Canadian producer of hemp vapes. Organigram’s wellness brand Monjour primarily offers CBD-infused Gummies without THC.
- Wana Brands, a subsidiary of Canopy Growth, launched “Wanderous” in August 2024. This platform offers products from well-known brands like Wana Cann Happi Charlotte’s Web Martha Stewart CBD MXXN. Shops are age-gated, and products have hemp THC content.
- Green Thumb Industries has partnered up with the renowned NYC Magnolia Bakery in order to provide hemp-derived THC infused desserts. Green Thumb Industries licensed the Incredibles edibles to Urb, which specializes in hemp-derived goods. The company, in January announced that it would partner with Chicago’s music venue The Salt Shed to open an on-site store for Delta-9 THC products made from hemp.
- Tilray’s subsidiary Manitoba Harvest has a long history of offering hemp-derived foods, but the company is also leaning into its hemp beverage line Happy Flower and more recently its Herb & Bloom brand.
- Verano’s Encore Edibles range offers hemp-derived edibles such as chocolates and mints that are THC-infused.
Cresco Labs is one notable opponent. Charlie Bachtell the CEO was asked a question about hemp on his company’s most recent earnings call. He sees hemp both as a chance and a danger.
He said: “We are hyper-focused on creating a robust, responsible and respectable cannabis industry. But that is really a cannabinoid business.” “But the issue with intoxicating hemp is, if it’s going to create risk to the future of our ability to get reform for a responsible and respectable cannabinoid – approach to cannabinoids, then that’s the issue.”
Bachtell also added that the firm continues to monitor market conditions.