FUBAR or Not FUBAR? What the Hemp Ban Really Means for Cannabis

This article is an adapted version of the Cannabis Confidential newsletter originally published here: FUBAR or Not FUBAR? The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.

We’re publishing this adapted version this weekend, given the continued confusion around the recent intoxicating hemp ban and the read-through for the industry writ large.

Cannabis stocks have been trading as if the recent news was proof positive that the GOP hates weed and Prohibition 3.0 is upon us. I get it, of course, particularly after Mitch McConnell did Mitch McConnell-type things on his way out to pasture.

It’s true that bad actors ruined it for everyone, with crime rings and cartels growing on federal land (likely why the recent enforcement was announced) and moving product in plain sight, given the uneven federal landscape and legal gray zone.

There is pesticide-infected weed sold at gas stations and convenience stores.

Cannabis is being shipped throughout the country and relabeled as hemp.

Chemical-infused gummies are being marketed to children.

I can tell you from my conversations with Derek Maltz Sr., the former acting head of the DEA and a man I’m fortunate to call a friend, that he believes the CCP is ‘poisoning our children in plain sight,’ using the obfuscation between hemp and cannabis to hide in the open.

So yes, we needed to tear policy down to the studs and start over—but that’s not as bad as it sounds and it might be a lot better than most people currently think.

Lemme ‘Splain, Lucy

It may not feel like it, but the hemp ban might be the best thing that’s ever happened to the cannabis industry. Average, ordinary, everyday citizens are SUPER-PISSED and rightfully so. The regulated space is angry too, but we’re used to that. Sorta.

I still believe we’ll see S3 (even more so now), the hemp ban will evolve into a positive (regulation of the molecule) and history will finger the hemp loophole as the ungating event for U.S. cannabis because you can’t put the cannabinoid genie back in the bottle.

Intoxicating hemp was a puppy dog sale for cannabis and that dog is now 5 years old. Try taking a five-year-old dog away from any family and see what happens.

With the entire country having now been exposed to cannabinoid wellness, we have a unique opportunity to reset the table, which should begin with POTUS delivering on his campaign pledge and with STATES 2.0 as a likely vehicle to reconcile outstanding issues and differences.

^ Tested and regulated 10 mg. cap for hemp-derived bevs/gummies with all other cannabinoids in licensed operators? There’s a Grand Bargain out there somewhere…

^ Yes, we should deschedule the plant, but that’s not on the board right now.

We’ve discussed the halo effect S3 would have, from Pennsylvania to Virginia to D.C. and back, but now, given the sudden outrage surrounding the hemp ban, the push for commonsense regulations has already turned the Hatfields and McCoys into BFFs.

^ Team Hemp is now super-duper-motivated for reform, just a few days into a journey that the regulated space has been suffering through for a decade.

Double your pleasure pain, double your fun? Maybe not linearly, but the unintended consequence of returning the Farm Bill language “back to its original legislative intent” will include existential motivation to solve for the industry segments that are solvable.

But Wait, There’s More

Meanwhile, last week, TDR hosted Curaleaf CEO Boris Jordan, who seemingly shared the quiet part out loud:

“There was a lot of pressure put on early on.”

“We got reassurances that this was gonna happen.”

“We’re taking the administration’s word for it.”

“They said they were gonna do this.”

“This is one politician that I feel I can take his word.”

Note: There will be no Canna Confidential on Monday as I’ll be in D.C for the Ignite (né Benzinga) Cannabis & Capital Policy Summit. Please use this link for a 25% discount if you would like to join Charlie, George, Boris, Kim, and others on the Beltway.

This article is from an external, unpaid contributor. It does not represent High Times’ reporting and has not been edited for content or accuracy.

Photo by Soheb Zaidi on Unsplash

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