A pivotal week in Raleigh for hemp regulation

Between the lines: If adopted, that would likely ban 95% of the products sold at thousands of businesses across the state, from craft breweries to vape shops, according to the industry.

Driving the news: The N.C. House will consider that language when it gathers next week in Raleigh, says Demi Dowdy, a spokesperson for House speaker Destin Hall. If a majority of House Republicans support the bill, it would go to a full vote.

• "Speaker Hall recognizes the need for stronger hemp regulations, especially safeguards to ensure these products are not sold to minors," she said in a statement. "Whether or not the House adopts House Bill 328 is ultimately up to the Republican caucus."
• Because the hemp regulations were drafted in a conference report, they can't be amended on the floor. So the House must vote to accept or reject it without changes.

Flashback: The lack of age restrictions on the products has become a major concern for lawmakers, and it was a major motivating factor for the N.C. Senate's decision to vote for them.

• "Two things that there should be no controversy over is that these products should not be in the hands of kids, and even if you believe that adults should have them, we should be telling the adults what's actually in them," Republican state Sen. Michael Lee said about the bill.
• The intrigue: Most Senate Democrats joined Republicans in supporting the bill.

Zoom in: The lobbying on either side of the topic has ramped up in the past week, with a group of law enforcement and prosecutor associations writing a letter to urge the House to adopt the Senate's language, WUNC reported.

• At the same time, a wide swath of businesses that make or sell hemp products under the name N.C. Hemp Businesses for Responsible Regulation have written their own letter asking for compromise legislation that would keep most products legal while adding age restrictions.
• Signees of that letter include: Trophy Brewing of Raleigh, Foothills Brewing of Winston-Salem and Noda Brewing of Charlotte; Raleigh's Hibernian restaurant group and dispensaries like Red Head Hemp and Nature's Releaf.

• Many craft brewers have begun making THC seltzers as a way to combat declining beer sales.

What they're saying: Reilly Dunn, who runs the Raleigh-based hemp beverage company Groovewagon, said the folks behind N.C. Hemp Businesses for Responsible Regulation plan to take their case to legislators on Tuesday.

• He worries that the current bill will kneecap what has become a fast-growing industry in North Carolina and is used by tens of thousands of residents, in his view, responsibly. Many people, he said, will turn to black markets for THC.

Dunn, for his part, started making beverages at Groovewagon as an alternative to alcohol.

• "For folks like me, it is really about what if I could be at my favorite restaurants and not feel pressured to drink alcohol or feel weird to not drink alcohol," he said. "There have been so many folks at Raleigh restaurants that have been adding this as an option."

The other side: In its letter to the N.C. House, the law enforcement agencies said not passing the bill would continue to allow intoxicating THC products to be potentially bought by children.

• "The only people and businesses who would oppose this conference report are those who are profiting from, and promoting a business model that thrives on, selling intoxicating substances to North Carolina’s children," the letter stated, according to WUNC.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to clarify that the proposed ban applies to products exceeding 0.3% THC or 0.4 mg per package.