THCA Under Fire: What HB1376 Means for Tennessee’s Hemp Industry — And Its People

By: Kristie Allen

The Tennessee hemp industry isn’t just a trend. It’s not a get-rich-quick scheme. And it’s not some gray-area loophole.

It’s a legitimate, fast-growing, and life-changing part of our local economy — built by people who believe in healing, in natural alternatives, and in helping others.

But all of that is now under serious threat.

HB1376, a new law brought forward by Rep. William Lamberth and Sen. Richard Briggs and signed by Governor Bill Lee, is set to go into effect January 1, 2026. And if it does, it will essentially ban THCA, the single most important and profitable cannabinoid in the Tennessee hemp space.

This isn’t just regulation. It’s an industry-killing move — one that will leave thousands of good, hardworking Tennesseans in the dust.

What makes this even more frustrating is that Briggs and Lamberth ignored efforts by the hemp industry, their own constituents, and did not allow the people to vote. There was no public ballot. No voice from the community. Just politics — at the expense of people’s lives and livelihoods.

THCA: The Backbone of Legal Hemp in Tennessee

Let’s talk about what THCA really is.

THCA is a non-psychoactive cannabinoid naturally found in raw hemp flower. It only converts to THC when heated — making it federally legal as long as the raw material stays under 0.3% Delta-9 THC. That’s the standard the industry has followed for years.

• For farmers, THCA-rich hemp is a dependable crop with consistent demand.
• For retailers, THCA flower represents a huge percentage of their revenue.
• For customers — especially veterans, elderly individuals, and people in recovery — THCA provides natural relief for pain, PTSD, anxiety, and sleep issues without relying on pharmaceuticals.

We’ve seen countless lives change through access to this plant. People getting off alcohol. Seniors sleeping again. Veterans finally finding peace. Even folks who never touched cannabis before — now finding something that works, legally and safely.

A Community Built on Care

This industry was built by Tennesseans — not giant corporations. It’s made up of people who are passionate about the benefits of cannabis, farmers who returned to the land, young entrepreneurs putting everything on the line, and wellness advocates passionate about helping people, not hurting them.

Many of us didn’t come from traditional paths. We found healing through this plant, and we turned that into a way to help others. And in doing so, we created real jobs, real impact, and real hope.

People who once struggled now show up every day with pride — running shops, harvesting fields, educating customers, and creating safe access to a plant that changes lives.

HB1376: What’s Really at Stake

HB1376 will do more than just limit sales. It effectively bans THCA, eliminating the very heart of the Tennessee hemp economy.
Here’s what’s coming if it goes unchecked:

• Retailers will be forced to remove their most in-demand products, slashing revenue and laying off staff, potentially being forced to close.
• Farmers will lose entire legal, lab-tested crops, grown with compliance in mind
• Veterans, elderly folks, people recovering from alcohol addiction will lose access to the products that gave them a second chance
• The Alcoholic Beverage Commission (ABC) — an agency with no experience regulating hemp — will take over enforcement, raising serious concerns about transparency, enforcement bias, and regulatory overreach

The Risk of a Black Market

Here’s the reality: People will still want these products — especially when they’ve already found relief through them. But when the legal path disappears, what fills the gap?

The unregulated market.

HB1376 won’t stop demand. It’ll just push it to the black market, where products are untested, unlabeled, and unaccountable. That’s the opposite of public safety. That’s exactly what regulation is supposed to prevent.

Instead of encouraging responsible, compliant businesses to continue doing the right thing, this law punishes them — and opens the door for bad actors.

Where We Go From Here

The Tennessee Growers Coalition is preparing to challenge this law in court, and we support that effort fully. We don’t oppose smart regulation. In fact, we’ve called for it. We want this industry to be clean, professional, and safe. But this isn’t regulation — it’s eradication. And if we don’t speak up now, the progress we’ve made could disappear overnight.

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