CARY, N.C. — For the past seven years hemp has been legal in North Carolina.

What You Need To Know

  • The state legislature has to pass a new law to keep hemp from becoming illegal in July

  • The current law ends June 30

  • The state House and Senate have passed separate legislation but need to pass the same bill for it to become law

Since then, businesses like Hemp Generation Wellness in Cary have brought hemp and CBD products to people across the state.

When Hemp Generation opened in 2018, Alex Amaya came on as creative director.

He said it was an easy “yes” because he knew there was potential in both hemp and cannabis in the future.

“A lot of people that come in here are usually seeking help with things like anxiety, sleep, pain. Those are probably the three main things people come here seeking help with,” Amaya said.

The current legislation in the state that legalizes hemp, and differentiates it from marijuana, is set to expire on June 30.

Both the state House and state Senate have passed legislation that would keep the industry legal, but the two pieces of legislation are different.

The Senate passed hemp legislation in this year’s Farm Act.

The House passed a standalone piece of hemp legalization legislation.

In order for a bill to get to Gov. Roy Cooper, who signs it into law, the exact same wording must pass both chambers.

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At the moment, hemp and CBD would become illegal in the state on July 1 unless one chamber passes the other’s legislation.

Amaya says he’s not stressing about the impending deadline or the General Assembly standoff.

He’s trying to focus on what he can do, which is making sure they are taking care of customers and their business.

“The hemp industry since we began in 2018 has been a pretty rocky road. Every year there’s something essentially to worry about, and so we could have been nonexistent a long time ago, but somehow we pushed through purely just out of love and dedication we have for the plant,” Amaya said.