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Federal Law is Banning Most THC Hemp Products – Can I Still Sell Them in Tennessee?
Published: Nov 6, 2026
If you have a hemp-derived cannabinoid (HDC) license issued by the Tennessee ABC, the ABC will not stop you from selling THC beverages and hemp products. At least that is what the ABC is signaling.
How do we know?
The ABC is not telling businesses to stop selling HDC. The ABC would be letting us know if businesses were not going to be able to sell HDCP under their Tennessee HDC licenses.
When the ABC assumed authority to regulate HDC last summer, ABC agents spent months in the field warning businesses that they needed to obtain an ABC license to continue selling HDC. The message was clear. Stop selling HDC unless you have an ABC HDC license.
Anyone out there listening to Afroman’s infectious tune “Because I Got High”?
I was gonna go to work but then I got high (Ooh ooh ooh)
I just got a new promotion, but I got high
Now I'm selling dope and I know why (Why man?)
We have not heard of ABC agents visiting businesses and telling folks to stop selling HDC.
On the contrary, Tennessee ABC sent out a notice last weekend that said:
“TABC’s laws, rules, licensing requirements, product restrictions, inspection requirements, and enforcement practices remain in effect.”
HDC is legal under Tennessee law. The federal hemp ban cuts total THC to 0.4 milligrams per container on December 11, 2026. Tennessee THC law does not change.
It appears that the Tennessee ABC will enforce Tennessee state law and not enforce federal law.
This is similar to states that have legalized marijuana. Although marijuana is illegal at the federal level, states that have legalized marijuana do not enforce the federal law. Marijuana states issue licenses and collect taxes for a product that is illegal under federal law.
Tennessee seems to be taking a similar approach and will likely continue issuing licenses and allowing sales even after the federal ban goes into effect on December 11, 2026.
We hear that some liquor wholesalers may be getting out of the HDC business due to federal concerns. Liquor wholesalers are required to have a federal basic permit to legally wholesale beer, wine, and spirits. TTB, the federal agency that regulates alcohol, has not taken a position on THC in hemp products. TTB is required to enforce federal law.
TTB has stepped up federal enforcement of other laws. The recent $12.5M fine paid by Southern Glazer’s has had a decidedly moderating effect on compliance among liquor wholesalers. The $12.5M was for tied house trade practice violations and had nothing to do with hemp THC products.
