On June 12, the North Carolina House Judiciary Committee discussed House Bill 563, which would implement a new law banning the sale of hemp-derived consumables to anyone under 17 years of age (unless consent is offered by a parent or guardian).

One of the bill’s primary sponsors, Rep. Jeff McNeely, told the committee how his bill has progressed since he first introduced it. “When I started naively, I thought I just wanted to make sure that a 10-year-old kid can’t walk into a smoke shop and buy some of these products,” McNeely said. Now the bill spans 17 pages, with numerous inclusions to regulate hemp-derived products for youth. “Research is suggesting that around three-fourths of our youth are finding their way to marijuana by ways of these type products that are in smoke shops and convenience stores,” he added.

According to NC News Line, if passed the bill would require that both manufacturers and distributors would be required to apply for a state license in order to start selling by July 1. Lab testing would also be required under the bill. More restrictions would implement a ban on edibles that are shaped similarly to animals or cartoon characters. It would also require manufacturers to create child-proof packaging and a label with information about included ingredients and allergens. Additionally, a warning label would be required to inform the consumer that they shouldn’t drive or operate heavy machinery while consuming.

North Carolina Retail Merchants Association senior director, Elizabeth Robinson, expressed support on behalf of her association. “We appreciate the framework for legitimate businesses to continue to operate responsibly and at the same time regulate those bad actors that, as he said, unfortunately have some of these products getting in the hands of our youth,” Robinson said.

Recently, the bill was amended on June 12 as well, which would require that both public and charter schools write policies that ban both tobacco and hemp-derived consumables from being present on school campuses or any related events.

This bill has developed in part because of the rise in youth gaining access to psychoactive cannabis consumables. In December 2023, seven middle school kids were taken to the hospital due to consuming an infused rice krispy treat. Two other students were arrested for supplying THC-infused edibles along with psilocybin mushrooms, which was later confirmed to be a “planned” activity by the group of kids.

McNeely answered questions at the most recent hearing from other representatives such as Rep. Marcia Morey. “Are the penalties consistent with what it is for small amounts of marijuana?” Morey inquired.

“No ma’am, they’re really not,” McNeely said in response. “I kind of look at this product like non-alcoholic beer. If it’s made right, there’s really nothing there that’s criminal or wrong. It’s when it’s not made right that we have our issue.”

McNeely is pushing for the North Carolina Department of Agriculture to take up responsibility for proper testing. “Department of Ag says they don’t have the abilities, the time, the people to be able to do this,” McNeely said. “So, the only way I knew to rope this in for a smaller amount of money was to put harsh enforcement on the backside, hoping that the players in the game will play by the rules and clean up whatever it’s not doing right.”

Rep. David Willis also asked McNeely about how the testing process works and who would pay for it. Currently, the manufacturer of the cannabis product would test the products before it can be distributed. After that, it is the responsibility of the North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE).

McNeely added that the bill would give $500,000 to ALE in order to cover the testing costs. Willis also asked if there was a way to have the cannabis industry pay for that instead of taxpayers, which McNeely confirmed is a hopeful outcome. “We’re hoping that the industry will end up being able to fund these agents and the sampling, and all once this bill gets going,” McNeely explained. “But we had to have some start money to get it going.”

ALE will publish its first annual report to the General Assembly starting in January 2025, which will include “enforcement efforts,” according to NC News Line.

If passed, HB-563 would take effect starting in July 2024. “I understand that there’s stuff in the pipeline. We’re not asking anybody to go just rip everything off the shelf,” McNeely said. “We’re giving them time to do that.” The bill will be considered by the House Appropriations committee next.

While North Carolina legislators are working toward protecting children from hemp-derived consumables, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) recently opened the state’s first medical cannabis dispensary in April. Medical cannabis is currently not legalized in North Carolina otherwise, but EBCI now allows medical cannabis cardholders to purchase medical cannabis on tribal land.

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On Monday, Vermont Gov. Phil Scott signed several bills related to animal welfare, diversity in courts, and addiction recovery support, and allowed a cannabis bill to pass into law without signature. The bill is designed to improve regulations surrounding cannabis and hemp-derived products.

Scott also allowed H.612 to pass into law without his signature. The bill creates a series of changes to Vermont’s laws on cannabis, most notably, banning psychoactive hemp-derived products. Scott said there are pros and cons, and that the bill takes “some steps forward, and some steps back” in terms of regulations to keep products safe. 

Among the pros include a loophole related to hemp products that are infused with THC. The law “ensures individuals with significant, documented medical needs continue to have access to medical cannabis,” he wrote. It “makes progress toward safeguards” for people under 21 who want access to “more potent medical products,” and the bill is “responsive to municipal concerns regarding setbacks for outdoor cannabis cultivators.”

On the other hand, Scott wrote that he is concerned about “warnings from healthcare providers that the availability of high potency medical cannabis products in more retail stores will increase use among those who do not have a valid medical prescription.”

The bill will codify rules the Vermont Cannabis Control Board already adopted last year, limiting the sale of intoxicating hemp-derived products in the state and regulate them as cannabis products if they contain more than 0.3% of total THC. 

The Brattleboro Reformer reported last May that the bill cleared the Senate. “We finally got it down,” Cannabis Control Board Chairman James Pepper told the Reformer. “The Senate made some changes then the House concurred with the Senate.” 

H.612 passed “very late in the day Friday,” Pepper said at the time. The bill loosened up advertising restrictions slightly from earlier versions and added some working groups and more requirements regarding a patient-provider relationship for people under the age of 21. 

The bill provides a path for municipalities to establish preferred cultivation districts and have some power over where cannabis can be grown. It also creates several more changes. A medical use endorsement option will allow adult-use retailers to serve patients with the same authorizations as medical dispensaries such as curbside delivery pickup and tax-exempt sales to patients. On top of the $10,000 fee retailers pay for their license will be a $250 charge for the endorsement. 

Under the bill, retailers with a medical endorsement will be allowed to sell products that exceed potency caps to medical patients. Sales to medical patients will be exempt from taxes. 

Added to the list of conditions to qualify a person for the medical registry is ulcerative colitis. Renewal terms for patients will extend from one to three years. 

Fees for medical dispensaries would be cheaper, with applications costing $1,000 instead of $2,500, and the annual charge would go from $25,000 to $5,000. An initial $20,000 fee is eliminated by the bill. 

Geoffrey Pizzutillo, executive director of Vermont Growers Association, counted more than a dozen sections in the legislation. “We have yet to see the final version of the bill,” he said. “We have an idea of what’s in the bill.” 

“Though we didn’t manage to stop the cultivation districts, we feel like a compromise was arrived at,” he said of language on zoning. “There’s not going to be immediate setbacks. There’s going to be a working group. We’re part of the working group to assess the outdoor siting issue for next year’s General Assembly.” 

Local leaders also applauded its ban on hemp-derived psychoactive products like those containing delta-8 THC and similar compounds.

“Importantly, H.612 will ban synthetic hemp derived intoxicating products with psychoactive THC that are currently unregulated and appear in gas stations and convenience stores, taking advantage of a federal loophole,” Rep. Matthew Birong, D-Addison-3, said from the floor in March before the bill headed to the Senate. “Another major theme will be adopting the medical cannabis statutes to preserve access to products for patients, as the current model for medical dispensaries is becoming economically unviable alongside adult use retail cannabis stores.”

Current state law caps the THC percentage in smokable cannabis flower products at 30%—which is high but exceeded in certain varieties—and the amount of THC in solid or liquid concentrated cannabis at 60%. Vermont also imposes a 5 mg serving size/dose cap on edibles and 100 mg cap on entire packaged edibles. The edible dosages align with what you’d see in most other states.

The governor wrote that the bill’s pros outweigh the cons as he allowed it to pass into law.

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On May 17, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed 20 bills prior to the end of the legislative session. One of which was House File 2605, which establishes regulations regarding hemp-derived consumable products that contain THC.

The passage of HF-2605 includes new restrictions and penalties applied for hemp-derived consumable sales, manufacturing, and possession. Now, such products may only contain 4 mg of THC per serving, or 10 mg THC per container on a dry weight basis, according to the Iowa Capital Dispatch. It also requires that warning labels be adhered to those products, which can be sold to adults over 21, and prohibits the use of synthetic THC.

Many people reached out expressing their opposition to the bill, and called for Reynolds to reject it. Prior to signing HF-2605, Reynolds explained that she considered both sides of the argument for and against the bill. “I have concerns about this bill and have heard from individuals and groups on both sides of the issue,” said Reynolds. “Ultimately, I am signing it into law to protect minors from dangerous and intoxicating products. At the same time, we’ve taken steps to ensure that children who are resistant to medications and suffer from seizures and other medical conditions continue to have access to consumable hemp alternatives for relief.”

In early April, HF-2605’s floor manager, Sen. Dan Dawson, explained that the bill is a necessary update to the Iowa Hemp Act. “The medical cannabidiol program actually puts an individual with a doctor to get these products, that’s the biggest distinction,” Dawson said. “The Iowa hemp program has none of those barriers there. So if we want to protect Iowans with these products… there has to be some type of guardrails on here, to make sure that the medical cannabidiol program is the program that we can direct Iowans to when they have one of these diagnosed conditions.”

In March, Rep. John Forbes expressed concern for the possible “unintended consequences” for patients who rely on hemp-based medicine that’s not included in the state medical cannabis program. “I think we’re not hitting the nail on the head here, when it comes to being able to help Iowans that are seeking out this as an alternative to maybe taking other prescription medications, and increasing quality of life, helping them,” Forbes said at the time.

During that same meeting, Sen. Tom Shipley, who helped create the Iowa Hemp Act when it passed in 2019, said he saw opportunities for loopholes. However, he was more than happy to support HF-2605 as a way to improve upon the current act. “We found out some people could find an angle to get around things and do things that are not good for Iowans,” said Shipley. “And I just want to stand up in support of Senator Dawson’s bill to try and close some of these loopholes that even I could figure out were coming.”

Following Gov. Reynolds’ approval, many others welcomed the new regulations. “This has created a lot of awareness about these products, and it’s put things in place that were necessary,” said Alec Travis, owner of the Iowa-based brewery Field Day Brewing, which offers THC-infused beverages. “Having a small cap while people get used to these products is probably good.”

Earlier in February, House Study Bill 665 was introduced, which would give the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services the ability to regulate consumable hemp products. “We thought we were dealing with the intoxicating aspect, only to find out that there are ways to get around that,” said Rep. Steve Holt. “So it’s sort of the wild, wild west out there in a lot of ways, with THC-infused drinks being able to be served to minors, a lot of other things going on that are not acceptable.” The bill has not received any further hearings after February 19. 

Similar hemp regulations are also being pursued by other states, such as Georgia. Earlier this month, Gov. Brian Kemp signed Senate Bill 494, which “makes changes to the framework for hemp regulation in Georgia to allow the Georgia Department of Agriculture to have greater oversight and enforcement power and adds labeling, packaging, and marketing requirements to protect children from misleading and dangerous marketing.” 

At the signing ceremony, Kemp explained that hemp cultivation is rapidly growing. “The vast majority of the jobs and the vast majority of the investment that have been created by these great private-sector companies … have been located outside the metro-Atlanta counties, creating opportunities for Georgians to succeed no matter what their zip code,” Kemp said.

Additionally, Kemp signed Senate Bill 420 as well, which prevents a “foreign adversary” from owning agricultural land. “As valued members of our state’s number one industry, Georgia’s farming families deserve our enduring support as they face unprecedented challenges, including having to navigate disastrous federal energy policies, attempts by foreign adversaries to acquire farm land, and theft of property,” Kemp said. “We are tackling these challenges head on, and I want to thank our legislative partners for their work on these important issues.”

On May 17, GOP House representatives recently published a 942-page draft version of the 2024 Farm Bill. Although still a work in progress, the draft currently includes a revision of the word “hemp” and provides numerous separate categories to label cultivators growing hemp for the purposes of animal feed, fiber, or non-food-based production of grain, seed, or oil.

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Over one-fifth of adults in America reported using hemp-derived cannabinoids such as cannabidiol (CBD) and delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in a survey of responses collected last summer. 

Researchers not only identified the extent of how popular hemp-derived products are, but emphasized that states that prohibit cannabis lead to a higher rate of delta-8 THC use—probably because that’s all people can get legally in those states.

The study, “Past-Year Use Prevalence of Cannabidiol, Cannabigerol, Cannabinol, and Δ8-Tetrahydrocannabinol Among US Adults,” was published Dec. 13 in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and referenced data gathered in a 2019 Gallup poll.

According to the new findings, 25.2% of adults reported past-year use of any emerging hemp-derived cannabinoid, including delta-8 THC, CBD, cannabigerol (CBG), cannabinol (CBN), etc. Of those, 21% of adults said they had used CBD specifically. Other products derived from hemp had lower rates of use: 11.9% of the survey respondents reported using delta-8 THC, 5.2% reported using CBG, and 4.4% reported using CBN—one of the least significant cannabinoids. 

The study was written by doctors Adrianne R. Wilson-Poe, Tristin Smith, Michael R. Elliott, Daniel J. Kruger, and Kevin F. Boehnke. “We provide the first estimates, to our knowledge, of past-year use prevalence of CBN, Δ8-THC, and CBG in the US. A Gallup poll reported that 14% of US adults personally used CBD in 2019; our reported 21% use prevalence of CBD represents a 50% increase over the past 4 years,” researchers wrote. 

“Prevalence of past-year cannabis use was somewhat higher than in other studies but was similarly associated with younger age, and past-year cannabis use was also associated with using emerging cannabinoid products,” the report continues. “Higher Δ8-THC use in states without medical or adult-use cannabis laws suggests that cannabis prohibition may unintentionally promote Δ8-THC use. There are few controlled human studies with emerging cannabinoids, but surveys suggest these products are used for treating sleep or pain¹ and in place of other drugs, including pain medications.”

The researchers noted that hemp products are frequently psychoactive, and these are the main compounds they’re concerned with.

“Based on these results, we support ongoing public health surveillance efforts targeting emerging cannabinoids because of lack of industry standards to protect consumers and similar pharmacology or effects of Δ9-THC and its hemp-derived impairing analogues (eg, Δ8-THC), which may be of particular concern for adolescents and young adults,” the study reports. “Study limitations included not assessing emerging cannabinoid use patterns (eg, dose and use frequency) and possible sampling biases, although NORC implements probability-based recruitment best practices for their AmeriSpeak panel. Our results highlight the importance of future research to better understand perceptions of safety, motivations for use, and outcomes of use of these products.”

Researchers cautioned that the products are not regulated and could put patients at the risk of adverse effects from unknown contaminants. 

The 2018 Farm Bill legalized the cultivation and sale of hemp, and it created a legal loophole, allowing hemp-derived products that are now sold online and at smoke shops, gas stations, and other retailers. 

Medscape reports that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) does not regulate hemp-derived products; therefore, no federal standards exist for testing ingredients for safety or verification of ingredients as listed on labels. 

“If someone is picking up one of these products to use medically, and it ends up having heavy metals and pesticides and it doesn’t even have the active ingredient in it, that is not good,” said Kevin F. Boehnke, PhD, a research assistant professor in the Department of Anesthesiology and the Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. 

Prohibition Leads to Delta-8 Use

In states where medical cannabis is legal, residents had 56% lower odds of using delta-8 THC, whereas those in states where adult-use cannabis is legal had 55% lower odds of using delta-8 THC than those surveyed in states without legalization. 

The findings suggest “cannabis prohibition may unintentionally promote delta-8-THC use,” Boehnke and his colleagues wrote. 

Alice Kuo, MD, PhD, a pediatrician and professor of internal medicine and pediatrics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California in Los Angeles, told Medscape that she has seen a large increase in patients who say they use cannabinoid products, and believe them to be “natural.”

“My official response to patients who ask me for my opinion is that I don’t have enough scientific background to give an opinion: If you think it helps you and you have no side effects, then I’m not going to tell you to stop,” Kuo said. 

The FDA warns about delta-8 THC and similar products, which it says are products that have not been proven to be safe.

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Over-the-counter hemp products in Mississippi are not what they appear to be, according to a Steep Hill Mississippi analysis.

Clarion Ledger reports that Steep Hill Mississippi President and co-founder Cliff Osbon said so-called hemp-derived products that were recently tested contain significant amounts of delta-9 THC and unsafe pesticides. He also said that the products would have failed the Mississippi Department of Health’s standards of medical cannabis as they contain pesticides.

Steep Hill Mississippi is a branch of Steep Hill—an industry leader in cannabis testing and analytics, located throughout the U.S. and Mexico

“On Nov. 27, I personally went around Rankin County (and) went to a number of gas stations and convenience stores and purchased products labeled they contained delta-9 THC, the primary ingredient in marijuana,” Osbon told the Clarion Ledger.

The products are labeled as hemp yet contain what is most likely potent cannabis.

“Reportedly these come from the hemp plant, not the marijuana plant, and remember as such they can have 0.3% THC,” Osbon said. “Our science team and their technicians tested these for potency, and we were staggered by the results we found.”

The 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp at the federal level, and in doing so, lawmakers accidentally legalized psychoactive compounds like delta-8 THC that are derived from hemp. Only 0.3% of delta-9 THC on a dry-weight basis is allowed. But the products in Mississippi contain delta-9 THC, which isn’t legal in the state.

Lab technicians discovered some products had 30 to 40 times the amount of THC allowed under the Farm Bill. Some of the samples that were tested had 12-14% delta-9 THC, Osbon explained. They also found that some of the samples contain an assortment of banned pesticides such as bifenazate, myclobutanil, metalaxyl, malathion, chlorantraniliprole, diazinon, spinosad, and permethrins.

“We in no way want to encourage anyone who sees this information to go out and access those products because of their questionable safety,” he said. “While merchants may have been told that these products are safe, legal and tested and may have been told they are exempt from the Farm Bill, our testing results call that into question.”

Medical cannabis dispensary operators are on the same side and said these sketchy hemp products are a threat to lab-tested cannabis that patients depend on.

“These findings undermine patient access to safe and effective medicine, which in-turn undermines the entire medical marijuana program,” Williams said. “There are many Mississippians that have devoted their lives to supporting this program … it undermines their efforts as well.”

Mississippi’s Medical Cannabis Program

Mississippi hemp farmers recently pivoted from hemp to medical cannabis, High Times reported last March.

Also last March, Mississippi lawmakers approved a bill that makes changes to the state’s Medical Cannabis Act, the bill to legalize medical cannabis that was passed by the legislature in 2022. 

House Bill 1158 was signed by Gov. Tate Reeves on March 27, 2022. The bill makes clarifications to the state’s medical cannabis program, and it also includes language designed to prevent regulators from passing rules that do not comply with the state’s medical cannabis statute.

The bill makes investigations by state agencies, including citations issued by the Department of Health, confidential until an investigation into the matter has been completed. An earlier version of the bill kept such records out of public view indefinitely, but some senators argued that keeping such material off the public record for any length of time is not acceptable.

Medical cannabis sales launched on January 25, a little less than a year after Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed a measure into law. 

“The ‘medical marijuana bill’ has consumed an enormous amount of space on the front pages of the legacy media outlets across Mississippi over the last three-plus years,” Reeves said in a statement that he posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “There is no doubt that there are individuals in our state who could do significantly better if they had access to medically prescribed doses of cannabis. There are also those who really want a recreational marijuana program that could lead to more people smoking and less people working, with all of the societal and family ills that that brings.”

The medical cannabis bill was a source of intense disagreement within the Mississippi legislature, and between lawmakers and Reeves, who was adamant about imposing tight restrictions on any law that emerged.

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Scandinavian countries in Europe are taking steps to halt the sale of psychoactive compounds derived from hemp—most recently hexahydrocannabinol (HHC).

According to Senior Inspector at the Finnish Medicines Agency (Fimea), Katja Pihlainen, HHC products have flooded Europe and made their way into Finland. She said that Finland recently classified HHC as a psychoactive substance that’s banned for sale on the consumer market, and Sweden is following suit with its own plans to ban the compound.

Finnish paper Yle reports that Pihlainen noted that the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), and member state agencies are concerned about the rise of HHC products on the European market. This is prompting individual governments to take action. Part of the uproar is regarding the unknowns of vaporized “new” compounds, which in some cases caused different effects than eating a compound.

Finland already made changes. “Burning or vaporising it can make it more harmful. We don’t know how it affects the body,” Pihlainen said. Pihlainen added that HHC first became popular in the United States, after the 2018 Farm Bill legalized industrial hemp containing up to 0.3 percent THC, because the law didn’t explicitly address hemp-derived psychoactive cannabinoids such as delta-8 or HHC. 

Finland is taking the initiative on the issue. “If you want to ban HHC as a drug, all countries have to do it separately. Or start doing it some other way, if you want to regulate it,” Pihlainen told Yle.

The EMCDDA explained why they are targeting hemp-derived compounds like HHC. “HHC is sold openly as a ‘legal’ replacement to THC and cannabis in a range of highly attractive branded and unbranded products—some of which are sold as ‘legal highs’. These include hemp sprayed or mixed with HHC—which look and smell like ‘genuine’ cannabis—as well as vapes and edibles. Marketing and advertising often make direct comparisons to the effects of THC and cannabis,” an EMCDDA document explained.

The sale and possession of drugs is strictly forbidden in Finland, including cannabis and hashish. “Anyone in possession of drugs, including hash, runs the risk of being arrested and expelled from the country or imprisoned,” the government states. “Drug dealing carries very heavy penalties. Please note that the Finnish customs regularly checks mail deliveries from abroad, and a person receiving a postal delivery including any kind of drugs (including medicines) runs the risk of a penalty.”

Other Scandinavian countries will likely follow Finland. According to Pihlainen, Sweden has also started a process to ban HHC. 

What is HHC?

While delta-8 THC and other hemp-derived cannabinoids are “new” in terms of popularity, HHC was first synthesized in the 1940s by Roger Adams. Adams used delta-9 THC found in Cannabis sativa and altered it to make HHC.

Adams and his team of students made discoveries that led to significant scientific advances. In 1940, Adams identified and synthesized CBD. Other discoveries include showing CBD’s relationship to cannabinol (CBN) and THC. He also synthesized CBN and THC analogs, including HHC.

Not all hemp-derived cannabinoids are the same. HHC carts are reportedly more potent than traditional THC products, such as delta-8 and delta-9 THC, which may provide users with a stronger and more euphoric high.

But a growing call to crack down on cannabinoids that are not fully understood could pose a problem for the long-term viability of the psychoactive hemp market. HHC is rarely specifically addressed, but states that have cracked down on delta-8 THC and similar products will likely go after HHC eventually as well.

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Looking for the latest in the world of recreational hemp cannabinoids? Binoid is a simple online source stocked with the good stuff.

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All your questions on hemp cannabinoids, answered, plus huge deals up to 30% off and hot products from top brands.

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Here’s what happened when this writer tried HHC with Bay Smokes, reporting back on her experience with the brand’s new carts.

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Presented by Hemp Hop, The High Times Hemp Cup: People’s Choice Edition unites competitors and judges from all areas of the hemp space. The festivities begin this January as High Times begins accepting entries, and the event wraps up April 3, 2022, with the official Digital Awards Show.

The High Times Hemp Cup: People’s Choice Edition aims to identify and award the best hemp-derived CBD products across the nation. That’s why we provide a wide range of different categories, covering everything from topicals to pet products.

The 2018 Farm Bill pretty much changed everything, for better or for worse. It reshaped the landscape for hemp farmers, processors and extractors, paving the way for hemp competitions that are open to the public. 

This event will be the only the second time this competition is open to the nationwide public, and we will see the largest pool of judges in the cup’s history. This is a sampling dream to get your products into the hands of hundreds of new customers—complete with feedback on your entries and thousands of impressions. May the best products win!

Competitor product submissions can be sent to Long Beach, California during the time period spanning January 17-21, 2022. And guess what? Judge Kits will be on-sale for online ordering across the nation on January 29, 2022. The judging timeframe runs from January 29, 2022 through March 20, 2022. 

To compete in the High Times Hemp Cup: People’s Choice Edition, contact a High Times Sales Rep or visit CannabisCup.com/Contact for more info. To judge, register to receive an official Judges Kit.

The Digital Awards Show will take place on Sunday, April 3, 2022, where we will present the more luxurious hemp offerings around. With this in mind, stay hydrated, stash some munchies, find a designated driver or do whatever other steps you need to ensure it’s a safe competition.

Keep in mind—this is strictly a hemp-derived CBD competition only. All products must be registered by the State of origin and must have proof of lab results confirming the product is hemp-derived and under 0.3 percent delta-9 THC. Also keep in mind, Delta-8 THC products will be judged separately from the other categories.

We also want to give a shoutout to our Silver Sponsor, Orange County CBD, as well as our Bronze Sponsor, Sweet Sensi. We couldn’t bring these amazing events to the public without their support.

Hemp Cup: What You Need to Know

There will be plenty of categories to choose from covering all of the facets of the hemp industry. Entry categories include Hemp-Derived CBD Edibles: Gummies (NO Delta-8 allowed); Hemp-Derived CBD Edibles: Non-Gummies (NO Delta-8 allowed); Hemp-Derived CBD Tinctures + Capsules (NO Delta-8 allowed); Hemp-Derived CBD Topicals (NO Delta-8 allowed); Hemp-Derived CBD Flower (NO Delta-8 allowed); Hemp-Derived CBD Pre-Rolls (NO Delta-8 allowed); Hemp-Derived CBD Concentrates (NO Delta-8 allowed); Hemp-Derived CBD Vape Pens (NO Delta-8 allowed); Hemp-Derived CBD Pet Products (NO Delta-8 allowed) and Delta-8 Products – Mixed Products.

Each category has different benefits and perks for being crowned with a High Times Hemp Cup Award, depending on the award.

Please keep in mind the entry requirements, which are different for each category, and they are listed below:

• Flower: (200) 1-2g samples
• Pre-Rolls: (200) samples around 1-2g
• Concentrates and Vapes: (200) .5-1g samples
• Edibles: (200) Samples 
• Topicals, Tinctures and Capsules: (200) samples
• Delta-8 Products: (200) samples
• Pet Products: (100) samples

Entry pricing is $500 per entry that is submitted. Enter 3-4, and get one more—free. Enter 5-7 and get two more free entries. Enter 8-11 and get three more free entries. Enter over a dozen and get five more free.

Since 1988, High Times Cannabis Cup events have taken shape all over the world. Now’s your chance to be part of the action.

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