RALEIGH, N.C. — It takes a lot of optimism to open a business.
What You Need To Know
The current guidelines around hemp are set to expire in June
The state Senate introduced new legislation
It would align the state with federal hemp regulations
Especially when it’s in a field as hotly debated in North Carolina as hemp and CBD.
About a month ago, however, Emma Macadam took that leap of confidence and opened Redhead Hemp in Raleigh.
Last year, she began creating her own products and selling throughout the area.
“I found a couple stores that are great quality stores, and loved the quality of my product. So they decided to take me on as a brand,” Macadam said. “Then from there, I just kept building up and saving all my money to eventually open my own store.”
However, like many retailers and hemp farmers across the state, her eyes have been on the calendar.
The state’s current regulations for hemp are set to expire at the end of June.
“It is very nerve-racking opening the store and knowing that depending on what the government decides and the local government, my store could have to close as soon as this summer or next summer,” Macadam said.
This year’s Farm Act, however, changes that.
Introduced in a state senate committee, the bill aligns North Carolina’s hemp regulations with the national guidelines.
That means retailers can stay open, farmers can continue to grow hemp, and companies in other states can transport their product through the state.
Macadam hopes that clearer regulations come with any updates to the guidelines currently in place.
“The market is just overrun with a lot of bad products,” Macadam said. “So, I’m hoping for just more regulations so that products with good quality ingredients and nothing nasty in them can remain on the market, and that we can kind of get rid of some of the products that haven’t been tested and aren’t as safe.”
She’s also concerned about small businesses like hers in this massive hemp and CBD industry.
“That would be really upsetting if just big companies took over, and that would make small businesses have a really hard time staying open,” Macadam said.
The bill still has to pass through the full House and Senate, but Macadam thinks there’s a bright future for the industry if they get the support they need.
“I would love to see the stigma just get less and less over time, and I think depending on what the government does that could cause it to go one way or the other,” she said.