Melissa Johnston, vice president of strategic development at Tryon Distributing, argued in a column first published by Carolina Journal that North Carolina should regulate hemp beverages rather than ban them, and said the General Assembly's decision to delay a hearing on HB 328 until November leaves time to write such a law. Johnston, a founding voice behind the Regulate Don't Ruin NC hemp beverage advocacy campaign, said the bill would impose an all but total ban on hemp beverages and that its August hearing was tabled.
North Carolina hemp distributor argues against near-total hemp beverage ban
Melissa Johnston, vice president of strategic development at Tryon Distributing, argued in a column first published by Carolina Journal that North Carolina should regulate hemp beverages rather than ban them, and said the General Assembly's decision to delay a hearing on HB 328 until November leaves time to write such a law. Johnston, a founding voice behind the Regulate Don't Ruin NC hemp beverage advocacy campaign, said the bill would impose an all but total ban on hemp beverages and that its August hearing was tabled.
Johnston wrote that her family's company is an independent, statewide wholesale distributor that has served North Carolina for 42 years. The company added its first hemp beverage brand in 2024, she said, and the category has since become one of the brightest spots in its portfolio, providing revenue for the state's bars, restaurants and homegrown grocers as they face rising rent, labor and raw goods costs.
She said the company brought on more employees to support that part of the business and invested in cannabis beverage certifications for its entire sales team. She said she shares the legislature's commitment to protecting children and supports 21-and-over age requirements, clear labeling and mandatory third-party lab testing in any final legislation.
Johnston cited a 2026 study by Whitney Economics that valued the hemp industry in North Carolina at $3.2 billion and found it supports 16,000 jobs, figures she said did not account for the hospitality sector. She said local breweries have begun making hemp beverages to offset declining beer sales, Michelin star restaurants serve hemp cocktails, and hemp beverages sit on shelves alongside beer and wine in some local grocery stores.
She said that if HB 328 passes in November in its current form, North Carolina will cede the industry to neighboring states that are pursuing what she described as sensible, federally aligned regulation instead of prohibition. She called on the General Assembly to revive SB 265 and urged readers who enjoy hemp beverages or care about the small farmers and family businesses the industry supports to contact their state representative and ask for "real regulation, not prohibition."
The column was first published by Carolina Journal and republished by Marijuana Moment, which appended an appeal for reader support.
- The source does not state the date in August on which the hearing on HB 328 was tabled, the procedure by which it was tabled, or the date in November set for the hearing.
- The source does not state the specific provisions of HB 328 or identify its sponsors, beyond the author's description of it as an all but total ban on hemp beverages.
- The source does not state the provisions of SB 265 or who sponsored it.
- The source does not include any statement from the General Assembly, its leadership, or HB 328's sponsors on the bill or on the column.
- The source does not state who commissioned the 2026 Whitney Economics study, its methodology, or the date it was published.
- The source does not date the column or state when it was first published by Carolina Journal.
Read the original at Marijuana Moment