North Carolina House leaders have delayed action on House Bill 328 after hundreds of hemp business owners, employees and supporters packed the legislature in Raleigh to oppose legislation they say would effectively eliminate the state’s legal intoxicating hemp market.

The bill would sharply restrict hemp-derived products, including hemp beverages, by imposing a 0.4 milligram total THC-per-container limit and restricting sales to adults 21 and older. Industry groups argue the THC threshold is so low that nearly all hemp beverages and other intoxicating hemp products currently sold in the state would become non-compliant, effectively functioning as a ban rather than a regulatory framework.

House Speaker Destin Hall acknowledged that North Carolina’s hemp laws need reform but suggested lawmakers are not prepared to move forward with the bill in its current form.

“Folks recognize that the current state of our law is not tenable. There are basically no rules,” Hall told reporters. He added, “I think there’s a lot of unintended consequences from prior bills and prior sessions,” and said he would rather address “low-hanging fruit” now and revisit broader hemp legislation later.

Hall’s office later said in a statement that the speaker recognizes “the need for stronger hemp regulations, especially safeguards to ensure these products are not sold to minors,” but that “whether or not the

House adopts House Bill 328 is ultimately up to the Republican caucus.”

The delay marks a temporary victory for hemp operators, beverage manufacturers and retailers that have warned the proposal would wipe out a growing segment of North Carolina’s hemp industry. Rather than opposing regulation outright, many businesses have urged lawmakers to adopt a framework centered on licensing, product testing, labeling, age verification, and enforcement, rather than THC limits they say would eliminate legal products already on the market.

Supporters of the bill, including law enforcement organizations and other advocates, argue stronger restrictions are necessary to close gaps in state law and prevent intoxicating hemp products from reaching minors. They contend the rapid growth of the hemp marketplace has outpaced North Carolina’s existing regulatory framework.

The revised legislation returned to the House after the Senate substantially rewrote the bill, requiring House approval before it could advance. Rather than moving forward with a vote on Aug. 4, the House leaders ultimately opted to delay the bill following a strong showing from hemp businesses and supporters at the legislature.

A Last-Minute Mobilization

The industry was caught off guard by how quickly HB 328 was moving.

Melissa Johnston of Tryon Distributing said the industry had been focused largely on the federal fight when HB 328 suddenly appeared in North Carolina. By the time many stakeholders learned of it, the Senate had already passed the bill by only six votes.

“It was a lot of closed-door talks and things like that,” Johnston said. “Before it was even on our radar, the Senate had already passed it.”

Johnston and a small group of North Carolina stakeholders immediately began organizing. Within days, they had built an email list of roughly 250 stakeholders, including dispensary owners, beverage manufacturers, distributors, restaurant and hospitality workers and retailers.

The group began urging businesses and consumers to call and email their lawmakers. Johnston said House members told her their inboxes were filling with messages opposing HB 328. But with a House vote approaching, the organizers realized they needed to do more. They needed to get people to Raleigh.

Someone in the group suggested they follow the example of the shrimpers, who had faced a similar situation when lawmakers moved quickly on legislation affecting shrimp farming, with little public attention on the bill. The shrimpers responded by showing up at the legislature in force and making so much noise that lawmakers abandoned the bill.

“We need to do what the shrimpers did, but we need to come out in a much bigger way,” Johnston said.

Organizers began promoting the rally on social media late Monday night, urging supporters to come to the General Assembly. Hundreds of hemp businesses, employees and supporters showed up, while some news

By Tuesday morning, the industry was still unsure how many people would show up or whether the turnout would be enough to make a difference. Johnston said she learned around 7 a.m. that the House could vote on HB 328 at 4 p.m. But by later that afternoon, the bill had lost enough support that it never made it out of the Republican caucus.

Johnston said the bill was moving so quickly that there was little time for the industry to understand what was happening or organize a response. But the industry managed to mobilize in just two and a half weeks, ultimately forcing lawmakers to reconsider the vote.

For an industry that had discovered the bill only about two and a half weeks earlier, the reversal was striking.

“Nothing short of a miracle,” Johnston said.