Guest Post: What Just Happened to Hemp?

How a Federal Shift Threatens Minnesota’s Edibles & Drink Industry

November 24, 2025

Wednesday night's Federal Hemp Ban Panel hosted by the Minnesota Craft Cannabis Guild at Steady Pour, a clear message emerged: a major federal change just dropped, and it directly threatens Minnesota’s thriving hemp-derived edibles and beverage industry.

Pictured left to right: Jude Croyle, Carol Moss, Bob Galligan, Kasey Kollross photo credit Stephen Eigenmann

If you’re in retail, manufacturing, farming, a home grower or consumer, here’s what you need to know.

The federal government quietly reclassified certain hemp-derived cannabinoids in a way that opens the door for CBN, full-spectrum CBD, and potentially other non-intoxicating extracts to be treated like controlled substances. Combined with renewed federal scrutiny of hemp products broadly, the entire low-dose edible and beverage market is now at risk. Seeds are also redefined and included in the ban as well.

And for Minnesota — the state that built the nation’s most successful hemp beverage model — this is a very big deal.

Minnesota’s Hemp Drink & Edible Market Is Squarely in the Crosshairs

Minnesota’s THC beverage model sparked a national wave. Restaurants, breweries, distilleries, and bars created innovative menus. Retailers expanded offerings. Consumers gained regulated, safe access to predictable products they could integrate into daily life.

And importantly — thousands of bartenders, servers, craft drink makers, and small businesses benefited.

But the new federal shift threatens all of it:

• Full-spectrum CBD, CBN, and other core functional ingredients may be recategorized as controlled substances.

• Hemp drinks and edibles could lose their legal foundation under federal law, even if Minnesota maintains its state rules.

• A product category that helped keep hospitality alive after COVID could be gutted overnight.

Panelists made it clear: people’s voices need to be heard and changes need to take place. Contacting your representatives to express your concern is critical.

What Happened at the Panel

Speakers — including Carol Moss, Kasey Kollross, and Bob Galligan — broke down the consequences:

• Minnesota’s hemp edible/beverage sector could be forced backward, losing federal protection.

• States like ours that led innovation would be punished, not rewarded.

• Consumers would lose access to safe, tested, predictable products.

• Businesses would face uncertainty, financial losses, or federal exposure.

• The progress we made with low-dose THC normalization would be erased.

• Cannabis seeds for home growers and legal commercial companies are punished as well leaving home growers to ultimately only be able to purchase legal cannabis seeds that are in the state only. Seeds will not be able to be shipped across state lines leaving home growers, breeders and cultivators in a tough spot. The cannabis seed would become a schedule 1 drug.

This Is a National Industry — and It Needs a National Fix

Panelists were aligned: we need federal action that:

• Protects non-intoxicating cannabinoids

• Recognizes hemp beverages and edibles as legitimate, regulated products

• Redefines the seed definition so it is recategorized as a hemp product

• Prevents the DEA from sweeping functional cannabinoids into controlled-substance status

• Creates national clarity so Minnesota businesses aren't left exposed

• Supports bipartisan solutions already circulating in Congress

Representatives like Ilhan Omar and officials like Keith Ellison are beginning to respond, but advocacy must ramp up quickly. There was a press conference at the capitol on Friday as well.

Why This Matters for Everyday Minnesotans

This ban isn’t about protecting public safety. Minnesota already regulates the industry tightly.

What’s really at stake is:

• Innovation

• Consumer access

• Small business stability

• Seeds & genetics

• Hospitality jobs

• Creative beverage culture

• Economic momentum

• A nationally admired regulatory model

And yes — Minnesota’s reputation as the center of the hemp beverage universe.

It took us years to build this. A federal technical reinterpretation could tear it down.

Where Do We Go From Here?

The panel made it clear:

This is the moment to speak up.

Call representatives. Email their offices. Support organizations pushing for federal clarification. Stay informed and stay active.

Minnesota proved that low-dose hemp beverages and edibles can be safe, regulated, and wildly successful.

Now we need federal law to catch up — not shut us down.

Erin and Bob Walloch are the Founders of CannaJoyMN.

They met at work while in college. Erin was at St. Catherine’s University majoring in education while Bob was at the University of Minnesota in the engineering world which led to a math degree.

They worked together in a myriad of jobs over the years and in January 2023, made the decision to take on another adventure and start CannaJoyMN! They pride themselves in meeting people where they are at on their cannabis and seed journey.

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