Drinks and gummies infused with hemp-derived THC could soon disappear from store shelves in Minnesota under new federal rules.

It's giving more than 2,000 Minnesota businesses something to chew on.

Josh Maslowski made a big bet in 2018 when he opened Minnesota's first ever CBD store in downtown Minneapolis.

"Tinctures, gel caps and CBD gummies is what we started with," Maslowski said. "I was betting on the fact that enough people will create this movement to change the narrative about cannabis and hemp."

Back then, Maslowski banked on a new federal law that carved out a legal exception for hemp, a cousin of cannabis that possessed les than 0.03% of THC, the cannabinoid that causes people to get high. In 2022, Maslowski's STIGMA Hemp brand would cash in an even bigger legislative change: the State of Minnesota legalizing the production and sale of hemp-derived, low-dose THC edibles and beverages. 

Now, dozens of STIGMA products are sold in more than 3,000 locations across 30+ states — and he's hardly alone. According to Minnesota's Office of Cannabis Management, roughly 2,400 Minnesota businesses applied for licenses to either manufacture, distribute or sell hemp-derived THC products in 2025.

"This is an industry that's created more than 300,000 jobs and $25 million in revenue in the country," Maslowski added. "The American people have proven that they can handle THC the same way they can handle bourbon."

Indeed, STIGMA's growth as a small business might embody the American dream, but Maslowski warns he's now facing a nightmare scenario thanks to a recent move by Congress to roll back the legislative carve-out that gave birth to his business: as part of the Senate compromise to end the government shutdown, THC would be effectively banned from all hemp-derived products.

"If the language that is in the bill stands, 95% of what we do is going to become illegal, which would crush our business and kill our employees, the supply chain and everyone that benefits that STIGMA creates," Maslowski said. "I was shocked that the genie could be put back in the bottle."

Fortunately for Maslowski, the new ban does not take effect for nearly a year, leaving some room for compromise. A last minute push to table the ban, however, led by Kentucky's Republican Sen. Rand Paul, was easily defeated. Minnesota's Democratic Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith sided with Paul against the ban.

Proponents of the ban, which ironically included those who first pushed to legalize hemp last decade, said it was long overdue to close a loophole which they said allows companies to take legal amounts of THC from hemp and turn it into "intoxicating substances" and market it to children. Dozens of state attorneys general also sent a letter to Congress, including Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, urging lawmakers to tighten the definition of hemp and prevent the sale of the products that contain synthetic cannabinoids like Delta-8.

Carol Moss, an Edina-based cannabis industry attorney, told WCCO she hopes Capitol Hill can look to Minnesota's State Capitol for a blueprint on how to better regulate the green instead of prohibiting it.

"We have several consumer protections in place," Moss said. "There has to be childproof packaging and it can't be like candy. We limit the potency of the THC products so they're not high potency. We also have testing requirements and those testing results need to be provided to the consumer."

Should the federal ban remain in place, Moss added, hemp-derived THC products would effectively be grouped into all cannabis products, which are entirely state-driven and limited in terms of their scope and sales.

"Do you think liquor stores and restaurants will sell a product that is a Schedule 1 controlled substance under federal law the way LSD or heroin is?" Moss said. "Do you think they'll put those on the shelves or offer them to the customer? That's exactly what they will be — they will be controlled substances. There are a lot of people who thought too much toothpaste was out of the tube, that this is a multi-billion dollar industry. How can it just be wiped away overnight?"

Back at STIGMA, Maslowski said he's trying to keep a positive attitude amidst his bouts of anger and frustration.

"Amidst this time of political divide I'd like to think there are three things that can bring this country together: one is a war against China, two would be an alien invasion, and three would be legalizing hemp," he said.