New state restrictions on THC this year wiped out a big part of the smokable hemp market, but makers of THC drinks thought they were safe.
That has since changed.
Beginning Dec. 11, a new federal ban on hemp-derived THC products will make that part of the industry illegal as well.
To walk us through what this means, we talked with Michael Williams and Andrew Martin, founders of Wild Revival, a THC beverage company in Denton.
These interview highlights have been edited for length and clarity. To hear the full conversation, click the play button above.
Is this is already impacting the way you do business?
WILLIAMS: Well, this is a very, very timely interview that we can come in and talk about this, because literally yesterday afternoon, I got an e-mail from our payment processor that handles at least 45% of the revenue that comes into our business. … Square, one of the largest payment processors in the country, says that they don’t want to do business with us because of the looming ban in December . … And all of those businesses, small businesses, they’re gonna have to figure out something else.
What does the new ban cover?
WILLIAMS: These new rules would essentially make any product that has an amount of THC more than 0.4 milligrams per container illegal. … No products fall within those guidelines … We sell 50 mg, 10 mg, 25 mg. And like, honestly, I couldn’t even imagine a 0.4 mg Tic-Tac. … These new rules and new law that would go into effect on December 11th will put us out of business.
MARTIN: And we have a unique position, too, because not only are we a brand owner with Wild Revival and Hi-Res and our brands, but we’re our own manufacturer as well. So, we have plants that we’ve invested a lot of our own personal money into … and with federal legislation as it stands now, we will not have a path forward.
What is the outlook for this getting reversed before Dec. 11?
WILLIAMS: I’m hopeful, because so many of the elected officials that won on Tuesday and are coming into office next year ran on a platform of, no, this is an industry that has grown and people have entered to in good faith. It’s so many mostly small businesses that have entered into this like the two of us and have built this over years and years of hard work — back-breaking hard work. And that’s why they got elected.
MARTIN: I’ll put it like this: 95% of our revenue is cannabis-based. So, if we lose the ability to bring in that revenue, we’re going to be in a very, very hard position.
Miranda Suarez and Ron Corning are the hosts of KERA’s NTX Now. Got a tip? Email Miranda at msuarez@kera.org or Ron at rcorning@kera.org.
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