Hemp Industry’s Dirty Secret: 99% Non-Compliance Revealed
How deep does the hemp fraud problem really go — and why isn’t Washington doing anything about it? In TDR Trade To Black presented by Dutchie, host Anthony Varrell brings in Kirk Barry, a fraud examiner and hemp industry watchdog. We’ll unpack how this loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill means hemp that doesn’t meet compliance standards is distorting the market, undercutting legal operators, and costing states millions in lost tax revenue.
Catch Thursday’s special livestream with Tilray CEO Irwin Simon at 5 p.m. EST, following the company’s morning earnings release. Varrell says expectations are high for a “decent report,” provided there are no write-downs or dilution.
Across the U.S., billions of dollars in hemp-derived THC and THCa flower are being sold under the guise of “compliant hemp.” But according to testing data analyzed by compliance expert Kirk Barry, 99% of THCa flower products exceed the legal THC limit under federal law. That means hemp is exceeding the legal 0.3% threshold by as much as 400–500%.
The result? An unregulated gray market that’s outpacing the licensed cannabis industry — at best with little to no oversight, and at worst “predominantly criminal enterprises. Roughly 70% of vape products, he notes, don’t have COAs at all.
We’ll discuss how bad actors are gaming the testing system, what the data really shows about nationwide non-compliance, and what Congress must do in the next Farm Bill to fix the problem once and for all. Because if hemp can legally test at 30–36% THC, what does “compliance” even mean anymore?
Berry calls THCA flower “one of the great marketing frauds of our time,” revealing that up to 99% of samples he tests fail compliance checks. Much of his work now supports class-action litigators and consumer advocates, though he says he’d welcome the chance to verify legitimate hemp retailers — if any would hire him.
There’s growing tension between the hemp industry’s explosive growth and the slow pace of regulation. Berry predicts state-level enforcement crackdowns will continue as places like Texas and California tighten oversight, but he warns the market’s rapid evolution will likely outpace regulators for years.
Catch the full interview on this episode.
