2025 NC Hemp Regulation Bills

Last verified: April 2026

The 2025 Picture

NC entered the 2025 session with the second-largest unregulated cannabis market in the United States and no state regulator overseeing intoxicating hemp. Since Session Law 2022-32 permanently excluded hemp from N.C.G.S. § 90-87 and § 90-94, no agency has had statutory authority to license, age-gate, or potency-cap intoxicating hemp products. Six 2025 bills attempted to fill that vacuum.

None had been enacted as of April 2026.

Bill-by-Bill Summary

HB 328 — The Lead Vehicle

HB 328 was introduced as a narrow bill: “Ban Delta-8 & Delta-9 on School Grounds.” It passed the NC House 112-0 in April 2025 in that limited form. The Senate then heavily rewrote the bill into a broad intoxicating-hemp regulatory framework and passed the rewritten version 35-7 on June 19, 2025.

The Senate version of HB 328 would, as reported:

• Ban synthetic cannabinoids — cannabinoids that have been chemically converted from other hemp inputs.
• Establish a 21+ minimum age for purchase.
• Require licensure for manufacturers, distributors, and retailers, with a $25,000 manufacturer fee.
• Authorize ALE Division (Alcohol Law Enforcement) to enforce the new framework.

The Senate-rewritten bill stalled in the House Rules Committee, chaired by Rep. John Bell (R-Wayne, House Majority Leader). The chamber did not bring the rewrite to a House floor vote in 2025.

The Other Five Bills

SB 265 — The DOR Framework

SB 265 would build the hemp-consumables regulatory framework around the NC Department of Revenue rather than ALE. Reported elements:

• Cap consumables at 1 mg delta-9 THC per serving.
• Require third-party laboratory testing.
• Require ID verification at point of sale.
• Establish a state licensing regime under DOR.

SB 328 — The Standalone Age Bill

SB 328 would impose a 21+ purchase requirement for intoxicating hemp products as a standalone provision, without a broader regulatory framework. Violations would be a Class 2 misdemeanor.

SB 535 — Hemp Beverages Under ABC

SB 535 would route hemp-derived THC beverages under the jurisdiction of the NC Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission. NC’s growing hemp-beverage category — Foothills Brewing’s hemp line, Trophy Brewing’s “Starry Eyes,” Groovewagon — sits in regulatory limbo, sometimes shelved next to alcohol but never licensed by ABC. SB 535 would bring it inside.

HB 607 and HB 680 — Chapter 18D

HB 607 and HB 680 are companion vehicles that would create a new Chapter 18D of the NC General Statutes dedicated to hemp consumables, with enforcement under ALE. The structure parallels Chapter 18B (alcoholic beverages) and Chapter 18C (state lottery) and would build a freestanding regulatory body of law for the category.

HB 328 passed the NC Senate 35-7 in heavily rewritten form on June 19, 2025. The Senate version would ban synthetic cannabinoids, set a 21+ minimum, require licensure (with a $25,000 manufacturer fee), and authorize ALE Division enforcement. The bill stalled in the House Rules Committee.

NC General Assembly, HB 328 (2025 session)

AG Jeff Jackson’s HB 328 Advocacy

NC Attorney General Jeff Jackson, sworn in January 1, 2025, was the most visible state-level advocate for the Senate version of HB 328. His public posture had three components:

• Legislative testimony. Jackson testified in person before the NC House Select Committee on Oversight on intoxicating-hemp regulation.
• Multi-state coalition. Jackson joined 38 attorneys general in an October 2025 letter to Congress urging closure of the federal Farm Bill loophole.
• HB 328 specifically. Jackson personally advocated for the Senate-rewritten version of HB 328 with both legislators and the public.

Jackson’s framing has emphasized regulation rather than enforcement. The contrast with Operation Vapor Trail, the April 2024 multi-agency raid in Onslow and surrounding counties, has been a recurring theme in his public remarks.

Why None Passed

Two factors are commonly cited in legislative reporting on the 2025 session:

• Industry pushback. NC’s hemp manufacturers, retailers, and beverage producers organized actively against Senate HB 328’s synthetic-cannabinoid ban and $25,000 manufacturer fee, arguing the framework would consolidate the market into a small number of large incumbents.
• The federal pivot. By late 2025, the November 12, 2025 enactment of P.L. 119-37 Section 781 was already on the legislative horizon, complicating the political calculus — some legislators argued state action should wait for federal implementation, while others argued state regulation was urgently needed precisely because federal Section 781 would leave a regulatory vacuum on November 12, 2026.

What to Watch in 2026

• The 2026 short session. Whether HB 328 (or a successor) returns to the House Rules Committee for a floor vote.
• The NC Advisory Council on Cannabis December 2026 final report. The April 2026 interim report endorsed full adult-use legalization with regulated retail; the final report may include specific hemp-regulation recommendations.
• Federal Section 781 implementation. If the November 12, 2026 effective date holds without a congressional delay, state regulation of any surviving hemp consumables becomes substantially more urgent.

Explore the Hemp Wild West

Official Sources

• NC General Assembly — bill lookup
• NC Department of Justice (AG Jackson)
• NC ABC Commission
• NC Department of Revenue