Like a detective trying to crack a tough case, Diana Eberlein has a pin-dotted map of the United States hanging on her wall.
Eberlein, chair of the advocacy group Coalition for Adult Beverage Alternatives (CABA) and chief external affairs officer for cannabis emulsion firm Vertosa, is tracking the ever-changing state-by-state regulations surrounding the sale of hemp-derived cannabis products in convenience stores and other retail outlets.
It’s a daunting task: During the 2025 legislative session, more than 30 states considered hemp-related bills.
At the same time, the issue is also being debated at the federal level. The Senate recently removed restrictive hemp-related language from its version of the agriculture funding bill, while the restrictions remain in the House version of the bill.
“It does need to be updated,” Eberlein said of her map. “But, yes. I do a visual map. Now we’re starting to get questions about, ‘How is it taxed?’ and this and that and I’m like, ‘Oh. I need a better visual.’ There’s only so many colored flags and symbols that I can use.”
There’s good reason for convenience stores to want a piece of this cannabis pie. Daily or near-daily users of cannabis have surpassed daily alcohol users in recent years, according to data from Carnegie Mellon University. And sales of hemp-derived THC drinks are slated to grow from $382 million last year to nearly $750 million by 2029, according to Brightfield Group.
Zooming out a bit, sales of emp-derived cannabis products like beverages and edibles became legal at the federal level thanks to a loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill that allowed for the sale of items containing less than 0.3% THC by weight. (Marijuana-derived THC, as is sold in dispensaries in some states, comes from cannabis plants with higher THC levels.)
Some states continue to operate under those Farm Bill rules, while many others have implemented or are considering putting in place additional restrictions.
Most retailers, as well as suppliers of hemp-derived THC or cannabis products, have called on lawmakers to create some sort of regulatory framework around their sale.
“I’ve always encouraged responsible stakeholders to push for regulation because it is a barrier to entry, because it lends some credence and some maturity to what the industry is doing,” said Jonathan Havens, Baltimore office managing partner at Saul Ewing, where he specializes in cannabis-related legal issues. “You want these products to be tested. You want the products to be safe … So, regulation is coming. I think the days of hoping that regulation wasn’t going to happen are over.”
Havens works with clients trying to sell their hemp-derived cannabis products in multiple states, but they struggle trying to meet the varied regulatory requirements in each jurisdiction.
“No one is going to have 25 sets of labeling,” he said. “But that’s if you were following the letter of the law, that is what you would do. You’d also bankrupt the companies.”
Here’s a look at the current state regulations surrounding the sale of hemp-derived cannabis products in convenience stores:
In some of these states, there is opportunity for convenience-store retailers to press their legislators and advocacy groups to lobby for regulations that are favorable to c-stores around the sale of these products, said Melissa Vonder Haar, managing director of TradeWorks from iSEE and chair of CSP’s newly formed C-Store Cannabis Board.
“When you talk about bans and the black market that it opens up, convenience has a unique perspective to share,” Vonder Haar said. “We were front lines of the illegal vapor market. We’re at the front lines in California and Massachusetts, where menthol was banned. Tobacco is something that is so frequently banned, or what I call ‘effectively banned’ through regulation without enforcement. We see what happens. We have the data to share.”
Some states worth watching:
- Alabama: One of the “more egregious” for convenience because legislators permitted the sale of these products at large grocery stores and pharmacies, Vonder Haar said. “So convenience was the only channel locked out.” But, she added, if the sale of hemp-derived THC products can be “normalized” in liquor stores and other venues, there may be room for c-stores one day.
- California: Currently has a temporary ban on the sale of hemp-derived THC products that Gov. Newsom would like to make permanent. So, there is an opportunity for convenience stores to do some lobbying, she said.
- Colorado: The state is “heavily restrictive,” with a dosage cap of 1.75mg per item, but an active coalition is currently trying to expand that, Eberlein said.
- Massachusetts: It has pending legislation, but currently has a ban on the sale of these products. “If convenience isn’t already involved, they should be involved,” she said.
- Texas: Currently up in the air. An initial bill restricted convenience stores from selling hemp-derived THC, but it was vetoed by the state’s governor. Legislators entered a special session but that is now on hold. “If you want to be in this space, you’ve got to do it now,” Eberlein said. “Texas has session every two years, so if they don’t get in now, it’s a two-year break before they have a shot at next time.”
“Your state convenience chapter is probably the first thing you should be leaning on and saying, ‘Hey, are you taking an active stance on this?,’” Eberlein said. “And then I would say the follow up from there is also to reach out to your state representative and say, ‘Hey, we want access to this. We do not want this shut down.’”
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