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Help Save Hemp Beverages in Pennsylvania
Tell your lawmakers to pass HB 2309 before the federal hemp ban wipes this category out.
Here's what you can do right nowππΌππ½ππΎππΏ
This form sends a message straight to your PA lawmakers. It tells them two things: vote yes on HB 2309 and support common sense federal hemp regulation.
Takes 30 seconds. Takes real weight when thousands of us do it together.
Our Initiative
Regulate, Don't Ruin PA exists to do one thing well: get Pennsylvanians educated on what's coming and get them to act before it's too late.
We're a statewide campaign built around two goals. First, raise awareness of the federal hemp ban set to hit December 11, 2026. Second, push the PA House to pass HB 2309, the Malagari bill that finally gives hemp beverages a licensed, regulated home in this state.
This isn't a protest. It isn't cannabis culture marketing. It isn't a brand pushing product.
It's an education and action campaign. Lawmakers need to hear from real people, not just industry, so they understand what's at stake and move before the window closes. If nothing changes, these products become federally illegal on December 11, 2026. That kills an entire industry, hurts local farmers and guts small businesses across the Commonwealth. HB 2309 gives Pennsylvania its own regulated pathway so this category has a legal future here no matter what happens in Washington.
The Problem
On December 11, 2026, a new federal rule caps total THC at 0.4 milligrams per container. That standard eliminates roughly 95 percent of the hemp beverages currently on shelves nationwide. Industry analysts put the loss at $28 to $30 billion in economic activity and more than 300,000 jobs.
This deadline already got pushed once as it was supposed to hit November 12. Congress passed a continuing resolution, President Trump signed it and the clock reset to December 11. That's the good news. The bad news is a 29 day extension is not a solution, it's a window. Pennsylvania needs to use it.
Here's what that 0.4 milligram cap actually does. Most hemp beverages on the market today are dosed between 2 and 10 milligrams per container and are not legal to be sold, produced or distributed in the same businesses as alcohol (per PLCB opinion). Every single one of them falls outside the new federal limit. This isn't a tweak to a few outlier products. It's a line drawn straight through the entire category.
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Pennsylvania House Bill 2309
State Rep. Steven Malagari introduced HB 2309 to bring hemp derived Delta-9 THC beverages into the same three tier system that already governs beer and malt beverages in this state. Manufacturers, distributors and retailers who already operate under that system would be able to sell hemp beverages under real licensing, real testing and real labeling requirements. The bill also requires responsible service training for anyone selling these products.
Right now Pennsylvania has no state framework for this category at all. That's the gap HB 2309 closes and with a federal ban bearing down, closing that gap matters more than ever.
The Federal Hemp Ban
Buried in last November's government funding bill was a provision that redefines hemp so narrowly it wipes out most of the legal market. The 0.4 milligram total THC cap takes effect December 11, 2026. If it stands, we lose a $28 billion industry and the 300,000 plus jobs that come with it.
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The Solution
Pennsylvania needs to pass HB 2309. That's step one. Federally, the industry just bought itself a little more room to work with. President Trump signed a continuing resolution that pushes the ban deadline from November 12 to December 11, 2026. That's not a fix. That's 29 extra days to get real regulation in place. We need to use every one of them.
Within Pennsylvania
The PA House needs to vote yes on HB 2309. That's the whole ask. It puts hemp beverages inside a proven regulatory system instead of leaving them in a gray area that helps nobody.
At The Federal Level
These are the bills worth watching and worth supporting:
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The Beverage Regulatory Parity Act (H.R. 10079). Sponsored by Rep. Beth Van Duyne and Rep. Greg Landsman. This is the bill built specifically for our category. It sets a 5 milligram cap per serving, puts hemp beverages under a real three tier distribution system with federal TTB permits, locks sales to 21 and older and applies the same labeling, advertising and trade practice rules alcohol already runs on. It's basically HB 2309's federal counterpart. Pass both and this category has a real regulated home from the state level up to the federal level.
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The Lawful Hemp Protection Act (H.R. 9830). Sponsored by Rep. Andy Barr and Rep. Angie Craig. Redefines hemp at 1 percent THC by dry weight, directs the FDA to set serving limits and defaults to a 5 milligram cap if the FDA drags its feet. Requires domestic sourcing and bans synthetics.
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The Hemp Safety Enforcement Act (S. 4315). Sponsored by Sen. Rand Paul, Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Sen. Joni Ernst. Lets states and tribes opt out of the federal ban entirely as long as they enforce a 21 and older purchase age.
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The Hemp Planting Predictability Act (H.R. 7024 / S. 3686). Sponsored by Rep. James Baird along with Rep. James Comer, Rep. Angie Craig, Rep. Gabe Evans and Rep. Tim Moore, with Sen. Rand Paul and Sen. Amy Klobuchar leading the Senate side. Delays the federal ban by two more years, buying Congress real time to get this right.
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The HEMP Act (H.R. 7212). Sponsored by Rep. Morgan Griffith and Rep. Marc Veasey. Builds a federal regulatory framework under the FDA covering manufacturing, testing, labeling and facility registration, with recall authority and a hard 21 and older line.
The People Behind The Initiative
This campaign is brought to you by: ββ
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Regulatory Principles
This campaign promotes the following regulatory principles to create a safe, thriving, and transparent hemp beverage industry:
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Age Restriction - The sale of hemp beverages should be restricted to adults aged 21 years or older.
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Safety - The safety of the consumer is paramount and should be a driving force in the industry.
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Serving Size and Potency - THC levels should be safe, effective, and provide value to the consumer.
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Labeling - Clear, consistent labeling is necessary to empower the consumer and build credibility for the industry.
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Regulatory Clarity - Regulations are necessary and should be thoughtful, concise, and support consumer safety and industry growth.
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Marketplace Consistency - A framework is necessary to ensure consumer confidence, marketplace consistency, regulatory clarity and public safety.
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βIn lieu of federal action, state governments should work together to develop guidelines that are consistent across state lines.
The Impact of the Hemp
Beverage Industry
The U.S. hemp derived THC beverage industry does about $1.3 billion in annual legal sales today. Analysts see that growing to $10 to $15 billion as the category matures.
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Growth in this category is running 50 to 75 percent CAGR nationally, with some states posting double digit growth month over month. 2.3 million case equivalents sold from distributor to retailer across 27 brands in 2024 and 2025 alone.
This isn't a "stoner" product. Everyday people drink these, soccer moms, veterans, retirees and people looking for an alternative to alcohol.
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This industry can keep Pennsylvania style beverage businesses alive
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Hemp beverages could become a real lifeline for Pennsylvania's craft brewers and beverage distributors in a legal state framework. HB 2309 lets the licensees who already know how to run this business, the state's existing beer distributors, manufacturers and retailers participate directly instead of watching this category grow entirely outside the system they operate in.
This isn't hypothetical. Craft brewing is a small business industry nationwide, nearly 9,800 breweries across all 50 states, $71.8 billion contributed to the economy, more than 415,000 jobs. Brewery closings have outpaced openings for two straight years as costs climb and drinking habits shift. Hemp beverages are part of how some of those breweries are staying open. One Minneapolis brewery reports THC beverages at roughly a quarter of its business. A Kansas City brewery that's been running since 1989 now produces a THC line right alongside its beer. These are TTB regulated manufacturers with decades of excise tax compliance behind them, not fly by night operators.
The category has already gone mainstream everywhere it's been allowed to
Minnesota runs the country's largest municipal liquor system, 176 cities operating 210 city owned stores. In one of those cities, THC beverage sales outpaced wine for the first time in July 2025. A national retail chain started carrying hemp beverages in Minnesota stores in late 2025. Regional grocery and convenience chains across Texas, Florida, Illinois and the Southeast carry the category too.
It's shown up at Lollapalooza, at Chicago's United Center, and as the Official THC Beverage of Major League Pickleball. Every one of those partnerships runs inside existing state law, venue policy and a 21 and older restriction. This is a regulated, mainstream category everywhere it's had the chance to be one. Pennsylvania just hasn't given it that chance yet. HB 2309 is how we do.
Independent restaurants and bars are leaning on hemp beverages too as operating costs climb and alcohol consumption keeps sliding. Right now they can't access this category through a licensed, regulated channel in Pennsylvania. HB 2309 changes that.
