North Dakota

North Dakota is one of the country’s most restrictive hemp markets, and it got there through legislative discipline: three separate bills (HB 1045 in 2021, SB 2096 in 2023, and HB 1203 in 2025) systematically closed loopholes that let intoxicating hemp products reach retail elsewhere. The Nebraska Hemp Farming Act at N.D. Cent. Code chapter 4.1-18.1 defines industrial hemp using a total-THC calculation from the start — total THC equals (THCA × 0.877) + delta-9 THC, capped at 0.3% on a dry-weight basis. Cultivation is administered by the North Dakota Department of Agriculture (NDDA) under a USDA-approved plan, with the Agriculture Commissioner holding statutory discretion to set legal THC limits in hemp plants. The 67th Legislative Assembly passed HB 1045 in 2021 (signed by Gov. Doug Burgum), which explicitly amended chapter 4.1-18.1 to treat all structural, optical, and geometric isomers of THC — including delta-8 and delta-10 — as controlled substances, and to prohibit isomerization of CBD into THC. That single act closed the delta-8 loophole years before most states. The 68th Legislative Assembly tightened further with SB 2096, signed by Gov. Burgum April 24, 2023, which excluded delta-8 THC products from the statutory hemp definition entirely and clarified retail sale restrictions. NDDA Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring articulated the legislative intent clearly at the time: ‘The intent of the 2014 and 2018 Farm Bills that legalized hemp was not to create loopholes for psychotropic products. These processes are synthetically creating a drug that will cause the user to get high.’ The practical result is a hemp retail market limited to genuinely non-intoxicating CBD products, low-mg tinctures, and topicals that pass the total-THC math. High-mg hemp Delta-9 beverages, gummies, and any product containing THCA that decarboxylates into intoxicating delta-9 THC when heated all fail the state’s compliance test. National hemp brands with 2.5-10mg per can cannot lawfully ship to North Dakota addresses, and the AG’s office has settled enforcement cases against out-of-state operators including a 2023 action against a major delta-8 manufacturer. Medical cannabis operates through NDDHHS-licensed dispensaries under the Compassionate Care Act (voter-approved Measure 5, 2016). HB 1203 (2025), signed by Gov. Kelly Armstrong and effective August 1, 2025, added lozenge edibles to the medical program capped at 5mg THC per serving and 50mg per package, with a 500mg THC possession limit on cannabinoid edibles per patient. Other food and beverage formats remain outside the medical program. Adult-use cannabis has been rejected three times at the polls: Initiated Statutory Measure No. 3 in 2018 (would have legalized personal use for adults 21+), Initiated Statutory Measure No. 2 in 2022 (would have allowed adults 21+ to possess 1 oz and grow 3 plants), and Initiated Statutory Measure No. 5 in 2024. Voter preference for continued prohibition appears settled. For the federal cliff on November 12, 2026, North Dakota is unusual in that Section 781 largely does nothing to the operative regulatory picture — ND is already closed. Section 781’s total-THC standard, THCA inclusion, and synthetic cannabinoid exclusion all parallel ND’s existing framework. The federal 0.4mg per-container ceiling is tighter than ND’s 0.3% dry-weight standard for very low-mg products but does not open any new pathway for the high-mg beverages that dominate the national market. Expect ND to remain closed post-cliff, with the possibility of a beverage-specific carve-out in a future session only if state legislators see revenue justification — no such proposal is currently in play, and the state’s demonstrated legislative preference is systematic tightening rather than carve-outs.