Hemp just got hit with a nationwide ban on intoxicating products—so what does that actually mean for the future THC industry, and where does cultivation go from here? The TDR Trade To Black podcast, presented by Advanced Nutrients, brings hosts Shadd Dales and Anthony Varrell back together with Michael “BigMike” Straumietis, CEO and founder of Advanced Nutrients, for a full sit-down on where this all goes next.
Congress passed the CR without amendments, activating a nationwide ban on intoxicating hemp products set to take effect in a year. Industrial hemp remains legal under the 0.4% threshold; intoxicating derivatives are the primary target. The guys break down what the new ban on intoxicating hemp products really covers, why it’s not the end of hemp as a crop, and how this could push the industry toward a true “one THC industry” instead of hemp vs cannabis infighting.
BigMike gets into why alcohol and whiskey lobbyists pushed so hard, what a unified front could look like over the next 12 months, and how rescheduling and a new Farm Bill might change the game again. Both sectors must form a unified coalition to compete with larger forces such as alcohol, tobacco, and pharmaceutical lobbyists. Mike stresses that the THC molecule will probably become the defining regulatory standard.
From there, they zoom out to the science and business side of cultivation: triploid genetics, double haploid seeds, automation, IP protection on the blockchain, and why outdoor, gene-edited cannabis could eventually look as good as today’s top-shelf indoor. BigMike also shares what he’s seeing on the ground in the EU, the Middle East, and places like Armenia and Kazakhstan as global cannabis markets slowly level up.
This conversation sticks to the realities: policy, genetics, yields, jobs, and where operators might need to pivot as the THC era takes shape. Be sure to tune in for the full discussion.
