EVERYTHING TO KNOW ABOUT THE CBD BAN...
Understanding Terms
Hemp and marijuana are different plants. While they share some compounds, hemp has very different ratios and 2–3× the diversity of plant compounds. Hemp is used for consumables, but its fiber is also valuable for 1,000's of other products. This legislation targets only hemp, and does not affect marijuana. In fact, marijuana lobbyists are pushing for the new ban.
CBD vs. THC vs. Cannabinoids
CBD and THC are 2 types of cannabinoids. There are dozens of cannabinoids. Both hemp and marijuana contain CBD, THC, and other cannabinoids, but in very different amounts. Hemp has high CBD and very low THC, while marijuana is the opposite. The average hemp crop contains 2–3× more beneficial cannabinoids.
Colonists to Henry Ford
Hemp is a historic American commodity. George Washington and many early presidents grew it, and some colonies even required a certain percentage of crops to be hemp. Colonists could pay taxes with hemp, and later, innovators like Henry Ford used hemp composites in cars. By the 1930s, hemp supported over 25,000 products and nearly $1 billion in annual revenue. To put it in perspective, the federal budget at that time was roughly $4 billion. It was banned in 1938, and remained illegal for almost 80 years until Trump re-legalized it in 2018. Today, hemp can bring massive economic opportunity for America.
How this Bill Hurts America
Today, 2 in 10 Americans use hemp CBD products. This bill will strip them of alternatives, leaving only 2 choices:
1) marijuana, 2) pharmaceuticals. Many would opt for a 3rd option, going without any help. The bill will also stop 1,000's of American hemp fiber innovations, including:
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Biodegradable plastic alternatives (reducing microplastics and reliance on Chinese products).
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3D printing breakthroughs
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Affordable energy solutions
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Fuel-efficient car parts
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Nutrient-rich livestock feed alternatives
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New building materials for stronger, more affordable homes
... and thousands of other applications.
Objectively Unfair
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This legislation was snuck into the government reopening bill. Congress was forced to choose between keeping the government closed, or voting against hemp / CBD.
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There was no chance to give input. Farmers and CBD users had only 3 business days to provide input. A bill that affects 325,000 American jobs, and eliminates 1,000's of farmers and small businesses, should allow time for input.
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This doesn't just "regulate" hemp, it makes it impossible to operate.
The Bill's 3 Points
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It bans several cannabinoids.
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Redefines hemp farming. Forces farmers to grow "unripe" or GMO crops at .3% total THC instead of .3% Delta 9 THC.
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This recriminalizes hemp products with more than 0.4mg of THC in an entire product.
We will now explain why this makes it scientifically, financially, and legally impossible to operate.
RESPONDING TO EVERY ARGUMENT...
Can't Farmers Still Grow?
Previous laws were already too strict, forcing farmers to destroy billions worth of hemp every year in America. Farmers already have to harvest immature plants, which reduces fiber value and available cannabinoids. To grow fully mature hemp, legal crop THC levels would need to be roughly 300% higher. This has made America artificially less competitive. The new legislation is astronomically stricter. The old limit was 0.3% Delta 9 THC; the new rule restricts total THC to 0.3%. Every hemp farmer knows this subtle difference will destroy them. A compound called THCA is the mother compound that Delta 9 THC matures from. When hemp is young, before the fiber is valuable, the THC content is primarily THCA. As it matures, the THCA converts to Delta 9 THC. The problem is 0.3% total THC means crops will now have to include THCA, which means the plant will have to be harvested before the fiber is valuable. This will eradicate the entire fiber market. It also means there will be almost no CBD in the plant because all the CBD will be the mother version, which is CBDA.
This isn't a Full Ban ... Right?
The new law reduces THC to just 0.4mg per finished product. For context, 1 drop of oil can have 70mg, so that's less than 1/140th of a drop per finished product. Just 2 inches of hemp siding for a house could break this law, making hemp fiber manufacturing impossible. For consumables, this means all CBD products would need to be made from isolates, which would eradicate all other beneficial compounds. Lab testing introduces further legal impossibilities because 0.4mg is within the standard deviation of lab testing. The same product in 10 government-regulated labs will get 10 slightly different results. Those "slight" differences could be 500% higher when dealing with numbers this small. A product could pass in 10 labs, then get tested by the government and fail in another. We could talk on this for hours, but the resulting fines from 1 issue on 1 batch from something outside your control (lab testing) could bankrupt you. This makes the industry nearly impossible to operate in.
Can't CBD Work Without THC?
The short answer: if THC is reduced to the new legal limits, all the other hemp compounds will be destroyed, leaving just CBD. Dozens of beneficial cannabinoids, terpenes, flavonoids, and micros would be eliminated, and you'd be left with only 1. Think of it like passing a law that allows a car to have only 1 part ... it simply can’t function properly. Producing CBD this way usually requires chemical isolation, which strays from the original purpose of using natural extracts.
Doesn't this Stop Synthetics?
This bill bans cannabinoids like Delta-8, which bill proponents call synthetic. In reality, Delta-8 is naturally present in hemp in small amounts. While most commercial Delta-8 is produced by converting other hemp cannabinoids in a lab, these are still plant-derived compounds (not synthetic). Just like THCA converts into THC Delta 9 naturally as the plant matures, this conversion can be replicated in a lab. All “synthetic” cannabinoids are actually made from natural hemp compounds.
Can We Wait to Reverse the Ban?
Every small business or farm that shuts down can’t simply restart, and lobbyists know this. Buildings are sold, equipment liquidated, crops changed, and teams that took years to build are gone. People will also be scared to invest their life savings if a new bill could pass in 3 days and wipe them out.
I'm Hearing We Need to be Concerned About Safety
It feels hypocritical that lobbyists for opioid manufacturers are suddenly concerned about safety, or that marijuana companies selling 1,000mg THC chocolate bars and strains like “Purple Panty Dropper” claim to be the champions of safety. Politicians who ignored fentanyl for years are suddenly worried about hemp supplements. Meanwhile, cigarettes, corn syrup sodas, fake butter, MSG, trans fats, energy drinks, synthetic food additives, and fast food have no legislative assault. Speaking bluntly, if you did a ban based on injuries, hospitalizations, and fatalities, you'd start restricting alcohol, medication, and marijuana ... not hemp. Destroying an entire agricultural sector and erradicating millions of jobs and making 2 in 10 Americans lose their health alternatives isn't what you do when you're concerned about safety. It's what lobbyists do when they want to eliminate competition. We firmly believe most politicians would reverse the current CBD / hemp ban if they understood its ripple effects. This is why they need to hear from us.
Just use Marijuana
Marijuana isn’t available in every state, and even if it was, it doesn’t work for everyone. Its lower diversity of plant compounds limits its effects, and its compound ratios are almost the inverse of hemp’s. This makes it unsuitable for millions. Many users also find it too psychoactive. In contrast, hemp products provide a large number of Americans with better daytime options, as well as effective nighttime options.
Marijuana Facilities can make CBD Products
Many marijuana dispensaries don’t carry CBD, and those that do usually sell CBD products made from hemp. People assume hemp companies like ours could “just open a marijuana dispensary” if hemp is banned, but that doesn’t work. Marijuana plants have fundamentally different compound profiles, and producing true CBD wellness products from marijuana would require GMO engineering, which we don’t support. Dispensaries are built around smokeables, not specialized formulations for health providers. If you open your own shop you can't cover the overhead without selling smokeables, which would compromise why many of us are in the CBD market to begin with. If CBD becomes dispensary-only, companies like ours couldn’t operate without compromising our values, and millions of Americans would lose access to real health-focused CBD due to geographical limitations.
Let's Only Keep Hemp Fiber
Some people who don’t use CBD say they don’t care about hemp consumables, but do want to protect the hemp fiber industry. The problem is that the hemp fiber market depends on the consumable market for revenue. Compared to many crops, hemp farming doesn't use a lot of government subsidies. Hemp fiber is still early in its innovation stage. Without consumable sales, the industry would require government subsidies, funded by taxpayers. Keeping a robust consumable market is the simplest way to keep the hemp industry self-sustainable.
Contact Congress
Click this link to sign a petition letter that goes to your national Congress members. It will ask them to help reverse the CBD and hemp restrictions that were added to the Continuing Resolution bill.
We Need Your Help
Please help share this! Also, we're using product sales to help fight the ban. Obviously small businesses and farms fighting this are outgunned and outfunded. If you'd like to help fund the cause, and try the CBD products our family makes, copy and paste this code X4M7 at checkout for 40% off today. (This code also works on subscriptions.) Every bottle sold helps us reach 7,000 to 11,000 people. Thank you for your support.