Missouri Hemp Ban Would Spare Beverages, Not Edibles

# Missouri Hemp Ban Would Spare Beverages, Not Edibles

**MIDWEST, August 18, 2026:** A provision in Missouri's new hemp law means that even if Congress finalizes a delay to the federal hemp ban, only intoxicating THC beverages would get relief in the state. Every other intoxicating hemp product covered by House Bill 2641, including edibles, is still scheduled to be banned in Missouri on November 12 regardless of what Congress does, according to industry figures interviewed this week by the Missouri Independent.

Jay Patel, president of the Missouri Hemp Trade Association, called the U.S. Senate's bipartisan support for a federal funding bill that would delay the national hemp ban to December 11 a "good sign" for the industry, but said "whatever happens on the federal side, it's not going to fully solve our problems in Missouri." John Grady, who co-owns Slaphappy Hemporium in Rosebud with his wife Kara, said the Senate action makes it likely their THC seltzers can keep selling through December, but that the beverage-only relief "hurts the whole other part of our business," since customers are already stocking up on other products set to disappear from shelves. Missouri's August 6 motion to dismiss the hemp industry's federal lawsuit against HB 2641 remains undecided, with no ruling issued as of this report.

In Illinois, Green Thumb Industries' hemp beverage subsidiary RYTHM reported record volumes in its second-quarter 2026 results, disclosed August 4. THC beverage depletions reached roughly 25,000 cases across 18 states in June 2026, more than triple the roughly 7,000 cases sold in June 2025, with hemp-derived product revenue up 67 percent sequentially. RYTHM's fixed $70 million annual licensing fee to Green Thumb took effect April 1, and the Chicago-based company's beverages are stocked in Albertsons/Jewel-Osco's Chicago test set and served at Lollapalooza and the United Center. The company is not providing third-quarter guidance, citing uncertainty tied to the November 12 federal cap.

In Ohio, Attorney General Andy Wilson's motion to stay the federal injunction shielding ten hemp beverage companies from the state's SB 56 prohibition remains undecided more than a month after it was filed.

The Senate's December 11 funding-bill delay still needs House approval; the House is not scheduled to return until early September. Missouri's motion to dismiss and Ohio's motion to stay are the region's two pending rulings most likely to produce news before then.