The N.C. Advisory Council on Cannabis, which Gov. Josh Stein formed last year, released a preliminary report in April that identified 12 “regulatory gaps” it traced to the General Assembly’s failure to regulate hemp.
- Age restrictions: Though many hemp retailers require patrons to be 21 or older, there’s no legal requirement.
- Packaging or marketing restrictions: Police often complain that products are packaged to appeal to children, and court records indicate that they are sometimes designed to resemble name-brand snacks. There is no requirement that packaging contain warning labels.
- Labeling requirements: Many products The Assembly tested in part 1 of this series had cannabinoid levels that did not match what packages promised. There’s no requirement that they do so—or that the label specifies what’s in the product.
- Purchase limits: States that regulate cannabis can limit how much a person may buy at one time.
- Licensing requirements: Currently, retailers don’t need a state license to sell intoxicating hemp, so anyone can do it (which is why you can buy blunts at gas stations). That not only means retailers aren’t vetted, but there’s also no way to limit the number of retailers in an area.
- Zoning and school buffers: Nothing in state law says vape shops and dispensaries can’t open next door to a school or playground.
- Public health: The advisory council argued that the lack of warning labels, dosing guidance, and public health education might confuse customers about “impairment, workplace policies, and driving under the influence laws.”
- Lab testing: There’s no requirement that products be tested in an accredited lab for cannabinoid levels, bacteria, heavy metals, or other potential hazards.
- Inspections, recalls, and enforcement authority: No agency currently oversees hemp retailers. There’s also no one in charge of ensuring that stores comply with recalls.
- Supply chain oversight: There’s no system to track intoxicating products throughout the manufacturing process, so the state has little insight into products’ origins or manufacturing conditions.
- Legal ambiguity: As The Assembly reported in part 2 of this series, the lack of clear rules has led to confusion among law enforcement and regulators.
- Taxation: The state collects retail sales taxes on hemp products, but not the excise taxes that it assesses on alcohol and tobacco. Whitney Economics, which analyzes cannabis markets, said that intoxicating hemp generated about $1.8 billion in retail sales in North Carolina in 2025. That means a 10.5% excise tax, which the state Senate proposed in 2023, would bring in about $190 million a year. Expanding excise taxes to all cannabis could generate more than $500 million a year.
