North Carolina hemp and THCA laws

The law in North Carolina

North Carolina defines hemp in G.S. 90-87(13a) as cannabis with no more than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC on a dry weight basis. Its definition of marijuana "does not include hemp or hemp products", and G.S. 90-94 leaves THC in products under that limit out of Schedule VI.

The figure is fixed in the statute. It does not refer to the federal definition, and it counts delta-9 THC, not total THC.

These definitions came from Session Law 2022-32 (SB 455, "Conform Hemp with Federal Law"), signed June 30, 2022, the same day the state's industrial hemp pilot program expired. Hemp growers are now licensed by USDA, and the state Department of Agriculture says it has no authority to regulate producers or processors.

No age limit or retail license, yet

As of November 5, 2026, North Carolina law sets no statewide minimum age for buying hemp products and requires no state license or registration to sell them.

Several bills would change that. None had been enacted:

• HB 328 would add a total THC standard, an age of 21 and licensing. The Senate adopted its conference report on July 2, 2026, and on July 30 the House sent it back to its Rules Committee.
• SB 328 would set an age of 21. It has waited for a Senate vote on House changes since June 2025.

The federal change on December 11

North Carolina's definition is fixed at delta-9, but federal law still applies in the state. From December 11, 2026, the federal definition counts total THC including THCA and limits a finished hemp-derived cannabinoid product to 0.4 mg per container. Read the federal page and What's changing on December 11.

Products with no THC fall outside the federal change: broad spectrum and isolate CBD, THC-free topicals and functional mushrooms.