rewrite this title and make it good for SEOMarijuana MSO Curaleaf to exit hemp THC ahead of federal ban

Major marijuana multistate operator Curaleaf Holdings will wind down its limited hemp THC operations ahead of next November’s federal ban, Chairman Boris Jordan told MJBizDaily.

Initially reluctant to participate in the hemp boom following the 2018 Farm Bill, Curaleaf in 2024 made “a strategic decision to enter the hemp market” that led to the company’s hemp-derived THC beverages sold at Total Wine & Spirits in nine states earlier this year.

But that’s all ending following the redefinition of hemp under federal law, signed by President Donald Trump, that will outlaw most of the $28.3 billion U.S. hemp sector in November 2026.

“The rules are the rules,” Jordan said during an exclusive interview at MJBizCon.

“We’re a law-abiding company, and we’re going to play by what the rules are.”

Hemp THC ‘doesn’t move the needle’ for marijuana MSO

The pivot means Curaleaf will “bring down” its existing inventory as well as “the amount of people focused on that business,” said Jordan.

The company will also close its single Florida hemp-focused outlet, The Hemp Company, which opened in West Palm Beach in April.

Curaleaf hasn’t “made the decision yet” regarding its hemp production and manufacturing infrastructure in Kentucky, Jordan said.

In the meantime, the company will “continue to lobby” for federal regulations that would allow its beverage line and other national efforts to continue, Jordan added.

And depending on what products are later allowed by law, Curaleaf will also explore moving beverage-making equipment to an individual state such as New York or Florida, he said.

On the whole, that means little will change for Curaleaf, which also announced plans to enter the Virginia adult-use marijuana market with a $110 million acquisition of erstwhile competitor The Cannabist Co.’s assets – and vertically integrated medical cannabis license – in the state.

Hemp “doesn’t move the needle for Curaleaf,” Jordan said.

“From our perspective, it was a very small part of our business,” he said. “We were just getting going.”

Hemp THC retail ‘wasn’t a great experience’ but offered branding lessons

The exit means yet another 180-degree turn for Curaleaf, which had intially planned to mothball the Kentucky hemp operations until choosing to embrace the hemp-THC market as long as enforcement was lacking and federal cannabis reform remained stalled.

Still, Curaleaf’s foray into the hemp sector set it apart from other MSOs such as Cresco Labs and Verano Holdings.

Curaleaf’s other publicly traded competitors stayed focused on state-regulated marijuana operations while also leaning on members of Congress to close the so-called “loophole” in the 2018 Farm Bill that allowed intoxicating hemp products to proliferate across the country.

“Our position was very simple: We feel there needs to be strong regulation around cannabinoids,” Jordan said. “However, we wanted to have a hedge.”

“If this loophole didn’t get closed, we wanted to participate in the business.”

And that participation was a mixed bag, Jordan said.

On the one hand, producing and marketing beverages gave Curaleaf experience building a nationwide brand – and introducing itself to consumers in states without regulated marijuana access.

Total Wine & Spirits carried Curaleaf beverages in Indiana and the Carolinas as well as Texas. “We now have an idea how to launch a truly national beverage brand,” Jordan said.

But on the other, Curaleaf found the retail side challenging.

“To be honest, it wasn’t a great experience,” said Jordan, who noted the West Palm Beach location was constrained by self-imposed rules on product origin and potency that nearby competitors did not obey.

“Down the street, we had retailers selling literally everything,” he said. “Now, if the rules are established that we could sell everything, we’d look at it again.”

Who killed hemp THC? Look inward – and embrace alcohol.

It’s still possible that the hemp redefinition could be revisited before it takes effect next November. It’s also unclear whether federal authorities have the ability or the interest to enforce the hemp THC ban.

More than likely, the next set of federal rules will govern cannabinoids like THC rather than address marijuana and hemp separately.

However, Jordan thinks it’s unlikely the landscape will change again anytime soon – most likely, not until retiring Kentucky Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell’s successor takes office in 2027.

“I’m not an optimist that it will happen quickly. I think it will take a couple of years,” he said.

As for who’s responsible for what appears to be the end of the hemp THC boom in America?

Though both the regulated cannabis industry and its sworn enemies in Washington are taking some credit, Jordan points to the hemp THC industry itself.

“I put the blame squarely on the industry, not on Congress,” he said. “Congress reacted to a runaway train.”

Powerful alcohol lobbies also pressured Congress to close the Farm Bill loophole but not because they were necessarily opposed to a THC-based competitor. Beverage companies are aware that alcohol consumption is decreasing and that alternatives are needed.

However, major national firms aren’t comfortable “operating in a loophole environment,” Jordan said. “They killed this so that they can go back and lobby for proper regulations.”

But those are the same lobbies that cannabis operators interested in regulations will have to work with going forward.

Said Jordan: “A reversal (of the ban) will only happen if we can unite all of the industries, particularly the alcohol industry, around one set of rules.”

Chris Roberts can be reached at chris.roberts@mjbizdaily.com.