At his farm in Hermann, Missouri, farmer John Grady has a plan for the upcoming months: plant grain hemp to make hempseed oil, and hope to sell it out of state.
"It's our protest harvest," he said. Grady would normally be planting his field with floral hemp to make the hemp-derived products he and his wife Kara sell at their nearby store, Slaphappy Hemp Emporium. But come November 12 when a state ban on intoxicating hemp products takes effect, most of these products will exceed legal THC limits. Because even the hemp chicken feed they sell has residual hemp flower that puts it over the new limit, they're using the feed to plant their field of grain hemp this year.
Although both hemp and marijuana come from the cannabis plant, they're regulated differently due to marijuana's higher THC content — that's the chemical that induces a high. The new bill signed by Governor Mike Kehoe in April will re-classify all hemp-derived products as marijuana, making federally licensed hemp producers like Grady subject to stricter state licensing requirements.
Missouri hemp farmers have cashed in on the market for hemp-derived products, which has been growing ever since the 2018 farm bill legalized hemp.
Hemp is federally legal as long as it has a concentration of 0.3% or less delta-9 THC, which is a more potent psychoactive chemical. But the federal law left a loophole in regulating legal levels of other cannabinoids such as delta-8 THC, which can be synthesized from hemp and has reduced psychoactive effects. This loophole has created a nationwide boom in hemp-derived products with high levels of delta-8 THC.
The new Missouri law essentially closes the loophole left by the federal regulations and says only licensed marijuana dispensaries can sell hemp products with over 0.3% total THC.
Grady pointed out that some of the cannabis flower he usually grows has a delta-9 THC content of only 0.1% but a total THC content of 0.4%, meaning it will now be above the legal limit for what hemp farmers can grow.
Supporters of the ban have argued that potent delta-8 products are too readily available and pose risks to Missouri consumers due to a lack of regulation.
Municipal League of Metro Saint Louis Executive Director Pat Kelly said police have reported instances of children unknowingly buying hemp-derived products that look like candy and snacks.
"For several years they've had problems with especially minors using these unregulated hemp products that are displayed and put right up in front in local gas stations and convenience stores," he said. "And the marketing materials that they're putting them in literally make them look like candy."
It’s the same logic former Governor Mike Parson used in opposing the products in his last year in office, and has been echoed by lawmakers who supported the ban this year.
Hemp farmers, many represented by the Missouri Hemp Trade Association, have opposed the new law and say it's going to hurt small farmers.
"Eventually it's going to be out of state suppliers and labs supplying it, and Missouri farmers lose out," said Grady.
While Grady hopes to turn to neighboring states to sell his hemp-derived products, other Missouri hemp growers like Brian Riegl aren't planting at all this year. Riegl also grows corn and soybeans, but said hemp is relatively low-cost and accessible compared to other crops that require more expensive equipment.
"Hemp is the newest crop for the young farmer to get into," said Riegl, who serves on the board of the Missouri Hemp Trade Association.
In 2022, the Gradys saw hemp as an opportunity to build a business and farm.
"I always wanted to be a farmer, Kara wanted to be a farmer, but we knew even here we couldn't make any money at a farmer's market to survive and pay the bills," Grady said. After seeing the growth of the federally legal hemp industry, they started putting their savings into growing and selling hemp.
Although Missouri hemp farmers have relied on their federal licenses to build their businesses, a hemp product ban is pending at the national level and also set to take effect in November.
