Industry Sentiment vs Reality – Could The Hemp Ban Be Extended?
On Thursday’s Trade to Black, presented by Flowhub: Jim Higdon, Co‑Founder of Cornbread Hemp, joins us to break down developments out of Washington. Reports emerged that the Trump administration had reached out to Congress regarding the proposed hemp ban. This raises immediate questions about whether the November 12th deadline could be delayed, softened, or materially changed ahead of their second guest segment. Adam Stettner, CEO of FundCanna, also joins us fresh off last week’s Chicago conference.
In the first segment, Adam Stettner, CEO of FundCanna, fresh off the IgniteIt Conference in Chicago with a perspective that cut against the purely celebratory tone most attendees brought home. While acknowledging the optimism in the room was genuine and well-founded, Stettner said he made a point of pressing operators with a harder question: what does positive sentiment actually mean for your business right now? Most, he found, struggled to answer concretely.
He framed that gap not as cause for pessimism, but as a call for discipline — long-term momentum is building, but near-term fundamentals have not yet materially shifted, and operators who mistake headline optimism for business improvement risk making poorly timed moves.
In the second segment, Jim Higdon, co-founder of Cornbread Hemp, broke down the Washington developments around the hemp ban. He described the latest White House outreach to Congress as the fourth meaningful shot at a legislative fix this year, and noted the coalition seeking a solution is growing, with the administration becoming increasingly specific — now explicitly calling for the Andy Barr bill or a framework extension as part of a supplemental appropriations package.
Higdon outlined the two lanes Cornbread Hemp is focused on preserving: supplement-style full-spectrum CBD products at or around three milligrams of THC per serving, aligned with the CMS Medicare pilot program, and low-dose beverages distributed through the three-tier alcohol system. He was careful to distinguish those products from smokeable hemp flower, which he acknowledged is the primary source of friction between the hemp and state-licensed cannabis industries.
This and more when you tune in.
