New rules from the Tennessee Department of Agriculture limit the distribution of certain hemp products

Tennessee hemp retailers are preparing for significant changes following the release of new rules from the Tennessee Department of Agriculture. 

The changes stem from 2023 legislation seeking to regulate the hemp industry in Tennessee and tasking the state's Department of Agriculture with promulgating rules on how to do so. The department's finalized rules arrived in late September, following a brief period of temporary emergency rules established in June. The official new rules will go into effect on Dec. 26 of this year.

Marijuana is categorized as a Schedule VI controlled substance and is not legal in Tennessee. The production of hemp, however, became federally authorized following the passage of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (also known as the 2018 Farm Bill). While both marijuana and hemp are derived from the cannabis plant, anything that falls at or below a 0.3 percent Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) threshold is considered hemp. Cannabis with a Delta-9-THC content above that threshold is considered marijuana.

The distinction allowed a whole industry of hemp-derived products — some of which induce psychoactive effects — to pop up in Tennessee over the past few years. Among the hemp-derived products that have seen a boom are substances containing Delta-8 and THCA, two alternative chemical compounds — or cannabinoids — also found in the plant..

The new law and the agriculture department's subsequent rules enact a suite of requirements, from licensing and testing to labeling and taxation. Attorney Alex Little of the Hemp Law Group tells the Scene that many people in the industry were generally supportive of statutory regulations that establish things like age limits, packaging requirements and the testing of products for impurities.