Tennessee Department of Agriculture lists new permanent rules regarding hemp

NASHVILLE, Tenn. ( WKRN ) — Some hemp products that are legal to buy in Tennessee may not be by the end of 2024.

Tennessee’s Department of Agriculture (TDA) released new regulations and some of the people who sell those products have worried that they will be put out of business.

It’s been called “the legal high.” Products like hemp flower are under the legal THC limit when they’re sold, but when you burn the flower, it can get you high. However, hemp flower could be illegal to sell in some cases when new state rules take effect.

“In the new rules, there is a prohibition on certain types of THC-A products, which are particularly popular in the industry,” Alex Little, an attorney with the Nashville-based Hemp Law Group, told News 2. “I think the biggest impact will be seen on what products will be available. I think shops will have to take a lot of products off their shelf as these rules stand.”

The new rules mean that a product’s THC content would be determined by how much is in a product when it’s burned instead of before it’s burned. Little said that the rule change could have a wide impact and it’s been an ongoing conversation.

“Customers are going to see that some of the products they’ve been purchasing may not be available from the stores that they’ve been going to,” Little said.

Jeff Hargis owns East West Kratom and CBD on Gallatin Avenue in east Nashville. He said the new rules would put him in a tricky situation.

“We’re a little different than some of the other vendors in the fact that we’re an herbal apothecary,” Hargis told News 2. “We vet what we use and what we put in here very carefully.”

In addition to leaving some owners sitting on thousands of dollars’ worth of product that they might not be able to sell before the rules take effect, another impact that could directly affect Hargis’ business is labeling.

News 2 reached out to the TDA about the new rules filed. A spokesperson sent the following statement:

“ The Tennessee Department of Agriculture filed permanent rules for hemp and hemp-derived cannabinoid products on September 27, 2024. These permanent rules go into effect on December 26, 2024.

The Department’s rules are crafted for operation of our regulatory programs for hemp and hemp-derived cannabinoid products. The Department’s authority for these rules and the allowable limit for THC and required testing method for hemp and hemp-derived products are prescribed by the legislature in state statutes. The permanent rules do not change those laws and the rules regulate, not ban, hemp and hemp-derived cannabinoid products, including THCa.

Details and links to the rules, including the Department’s responses to public hearing comments, can be found on the TDA website on the Hemp-Derived Cannabinoids page . “

The only thing that could potentially halt it would be a lawsuit, according to Little. The law would go into effect Dec. 26.

“If a lawsuit does happen, it’ll be up to the court: whether the department has properly regulated these items or whether the regulations [they] are trying to enforce are actually inconsistent with the statute that was passed last year,” Little said. “That’ll be [in] the court’s hands to decide.”

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CBS 42.