Lawmakers, small businesses scrambling to overturn new hemp law
By Esme Murphy
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Minnesota (WCCO) — Sales of hemp-based drinks and edibles are booming in Minnesota, and it’s not just in shops that feature hemp and marijuana products. Liquor stores have added hemp beverages to their shelves.
For small businesses, the growth and the profits have been strong. But a new federal law threatens the entire industry that Democratic U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar says provides 2,700 Minnesota jobs and has generated $16 million in taxes for the state through nine months in 2025.
Minneapolis-based Stigma Hemp sells its products at more than 3,000 locations across the country. Josh Maslowski, its founder, was a guest on WCCO Sunday Morning at 10:30 a.m.
“As it stands today, it would effectively ban over 95% of the hemp products that are currently being made and sold around the country,” Maslowski said.
The surge in hemp products started in 2018 with a loophole in the federal farm bill. But this fall, in the midst of a chaotic budget battle to reopen the government, Republican Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell put an amendment in the budget bill that limits the THC in an edible or beverage to .4 milligrams. The thriving market in Minnesota features products up to 10 milligrams.
McConnell’s chief reason for the amendment is that the products are a threat for children, but industry leaders insist strict age limits are enforced. In Minnesota, you have to be 21 to make a purchase.
“Twenty-one and up, don’t market to children. That’s been something we’ve been asking for,” Maslowski said.
A coalition of Minnesota Democrats, led by Sens. Klobuchar and Tina Smith and Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, say they will fight to get the new ban reversed. And it now appears Congressman Tom Emmer, the third-ranking Republican in the U.S. House, is on board with reversing the ban.
“Expect long before this would actually take effect, there will be a fix that allows people to continue doing what they do in the hemp industry,” Emmer said.
The new ban doesn’t go into effect until November 2026. Until then, businesses in Minnesota and other states where higher THC hemp products are allowed can continue to sell their products.
“We need politicians and leaders on both sides to come together on this,” Maslowski said. “It affects millions of people around the country. It doesn’t matter your party lines.”
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