NC’s $4 Billion Hemp Wild West

Last verified: April 2026

How NC Got Here

NC enrolled in the federal 2014 Farm Bill hemp pilot via Senate Bill 313 (2015), creating Article 50E of Chapter 106 and the NC Industrial Hemp Commission. The pilot peaked in 2019 with roughly 1,500 licensed growers across 13,167 outdoor acres plus 5 million sq ft of greenhouse and ~1,200 registered processors — making NC the national leader in licensed acreage and growers.

Then the CBD market collapsed from oversupply, and U.S. cultivation dropped 90%+ by 2021. NCDA&CS announced August 16, 2021 that NC would not submit a state plan under the 2018 Farm Bill; cultivation regulation transferred entirely to the USDA Domestic Hemp Production Program. Article 50E expired June 30, 2022.

Session Law 2022-32 (SB 455, signed June 30, 2022) permanently excluded hemp and hemp-derived products from N.C.G.S. § 90-87 and § 90-94, removing hemp from NC’s controlled-substances framework with no replacement state regulator. That regulatory void is the gap that produced the Wild West.

NC has no state minimum age, potency cap, labeling rule, or licensing requirement for intoxicating hemp products. Hemp is defined solely by delta-9 THC content (≤ 0.3% dry weight) under the federal 2018 Farm Bill, mirrored in N.C.G.S. § 90-87(13a).

North Carolina General Statutes, § 90-87(13a)

What’s Sold (and Where)

The 2018 Farm Bill defined hemp solely by delta-9 THC ≤ 0.3% dry weight, creating space for an entire ecosystem of intoxicating products that aren’t technically delta-9 THC but produce similar effects:

• Delta-8 THC — semi-synthetic isomer of delta-9, mildly intoxicating
• Delta-10 THC — another isomer
• THC-O acetate — synthetically converted, more potent
• HHC / HHC-O — hexahydrocannabinol
• THCP — tetrahydrocannabiphorol, very potent
• THCA flower — raw cannabis that tests low-delta-9 but converts to delta-9 on combustion (i.e., when smoked)
• Hemp-derived Delta-9 edibles & beverages — products with ≤ 0.3% delta-9 by weight, often delivering 10–100 mg active THC

Retailers include gas stations, vape shops, smoke shops, and dedicated hemp dispensaries. Notable NC hemp retailers: Modern Apotheca (Raleigh), Carolina Hemp Hut (Durham), The Hemp Farmacy (Wilmington and others), Crowntown Cannabis, Sweet Union, Queen Hemp Company, Franny’s Farmacy (Asheville), Foothills Brewing’s hemp beverage line (Winston-Salem), Trophy Brewing’s “Starry Eyes” hemp seltzer (Raleigh), and Groovewagon. See the hemp shop directory.

The Market Size

A 2023 Whitney Economics study widely cited by NC Health News, Port City Daily, and the Daily Tar Heel pegged NC hemp industry sales at $759 million to $1.1 billion annually with ~9,000 jobs, ranking NC 6th nationally for hemp-derived products. The NC Advisory Council on Cannabis (April 2026 interim report) added that legal hemp-derived intoxicating products plus illicit marijuana approach a combined $4 billion annual NC cannabis market — making NC the second-largest unregulated cannabis market in America.

The Legal Defense: Anderson v. Diamondback

In Anderson v. Diamondback Investment Group, 2024 WL 4031401 (4th Cir. Sept. 4, 2024), the Fourth Circuit held that the 2018 Farm Bill’s hemp definition is unambiguous and protects synthetically converted cannabinoids. That ruling is binding in NC and is the doctrinal foundation that has kept the Wild West open while other states (TN, GA, SC) have moved to restrict similar products.

2025 NC Regulation Attempts

Multiple 2025 NC bills attempted to regulate the market — none enacted as of April 2026:

• HB 328 (“Ban Delta-8 & Delta-9 on School Grounds”) — passed House 112-0 in April 2025; passed Senate 35-7 in heavily rewritten form in June 2025; stalled in House Rules. The Senate version would ban synthetic cannabinoids, set a 21+ minimum, require licensure, and authorize ALE Division enforcement.
• SB 265 — DOR-administered framework; would cap consumables at 1 mg delta-9/serving and require third-party lab testing.
• SB 328 — stand-alone 21+ purchase requirement.
• SB 535 — would route hemp beverages under the ABC Commission.
• HB 607 / HB 680 — would create a new Chapter 18D regulating hemp consumables under ALE.

See the 2025 NC bills for the full breakdown.

Operation Vapor Trail and AG Jackson’s Posture

Operation Vapor Trail (April 3, 2024) was the highest-profile enforcement action: a multi-agency raid (DEA, NCIS, Onslow, New Hanover, Jacksonville, Hope Mills, Wilmington) on 71 vape and tobacco shops in 6 NC counties, seizing 104.29 lb of Schedule I products, 3,006 lb of marijuana products, and $855,577 in cash, with 17 arrests. The operation triggered a December 6, 2024 federal civil-rights lawsuit alleging unlawful search/seizure and discriminatory targeting of Middle Eastern-owned shops. Litigation pending. See the full story.

AG Jeff Jackson has taken a visibly anti-loophole posture — testifying before the NC House Select Committee on Oversight, joining 38 attorneys general in October 2025 in a letter to Congress urging closure of the Farm Bill loophole, and personally advocating for HB 328’s Senate version.

The November 12, 2026 Federal Cliff

Section 781 of the Continuing Appropriations Act of 2026 (P.L. 119-37) — inserted by Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), signed November 12, 2025 to end the 43-day federal shutdown — redefines hemp using “total THC” (including THCA), with a ceiling of 0.4 mg total THC per finished consumer container, and excludes synthetically converted cannabinoids from the hemp definition. Effective November 12, 2026.

Industry analyses estimate roughly 95% of current NC intoxicating hemp products will become Schedule I marijuana federally on that date, absent a delay. Counter-bills pending in Congress: the HEMP Act and the Hemp Planting Predictability Act (H.R. 7010), the latter proposing a 2-year delay. See the federal hemp cliff page for the full implementation analysis.

Explore the Hemp Wild West

Official Sources

• NCDA&CS Industrial Hemp Program (historical)
• USDA Domestic Hemp Production Program
• NC State Extension Hemp Portal
• NC Department of Justice (AG Jackson)