“Our focus was to faithfully implement the framework enacted by the general assembly.”
By Adam Friedman, Tennessee Lookout
A combination of state and federal rules are going to reshape Tennessee’s once-burgeoning hemp industry starting in July.
Most of Tennessee’s most popular hemp-derived cannabis products, like THCA, will be illegal to sell as the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission assumes full regulatory control of hemp and begins enforcing a ban passed in 2025 by state lawmakers.
The commission became the state agency responsible for hemp at the start of the year but a last-minute deal allowed companies operating under the old regulatory framework to continue selling products like THCA until June 30.
Officials with the Alcoholic Beverage Commission appeared before the legislature’s government operations committee in May to finalize the rules, acknowledging that most of the public comments focused on frustrations with the THCA ban.
“Our focus was to faithfully implement the framework enacted by the general assembly,” said Russell Thomas, the executive director of the commission.
After Congress passed the 2018 Farm Bill, new marijuana-like products were sold in states that hadn’t already legalized it. These new, mostly smokable, drinkable and edible consumer items are derived from hemp, which allowed them to avoid Tennessee’s
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