Eau Claire, Wis. (WEAU) — A sweeping federal ban threatens to shut down local hemp and CBD businesses just weeks before the holiday season.
New rules limit legal hemp
Congress passed the Agricultural Appropriations Act in November, replacing the 2018 Farm Bill and tightening hemp definitions.
The law caps total THC at 0.4 milligrams and bans any product containing higher concentrations or synthetic cannabinoids.
The Senate Appropriations Committee says the measure aims to curb unregulated intoxicating hemp sales.
Online CBD seller also affected
Luke Heidt, owner of Wisconsin Hemp Flower in Mondovi, has sold CBD online since 2018 and now faces the same restrictions.
His products contain only trace THC, but the new limits will force him to cease operations.
“The CBD world, as far as I’m concerned, is just about helping people and if there is no intoxication, I don’t really think that it should be restricted,” Heidt said.
The ban was originally set for November but was delayed a month, taking effect on Dec. 11.
“And it’s impossible to ignore that all of our products are going to get restricted in mid‑December,” Heidt said. “I’d love to see momentum and change, but that requires action from Congress or our state government.”
Chris Buske, who runs Wonders of Nature, a cannabis café and dispensary in downtown Eau Claire, has spent eight years promoting herbalism and homeopathic remedies for pain, arthritis and sleep.
He warned that the ban will force his shop to close its doors, removing access for consumers who rely on his products.
“We’ll have to close our doors [and] the impact that this is going to have is removing access to those that have become reliant upon this,” Buske said.
Buske said the ban will require him to stop selling almost all inventory, despite his long‑standing support for age gating, labeling and testing.
“Many of us have put everything — our livelihood, energy and years — into building this industry and helping consumers, and now that’s just going to… the rug is being pulled out from underneath us,” he added.
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