Bipartisan Group of State Law Makers Back Bill to Regulate Intoxicating Hemp Products

Thursday, December 4th, 2025 -- 8:00 AM

(Rich Kremer, Wisconsin Public Radio) A bipartisan group of state lawmakers is backing a bill to regulate intoxicating hemp products in Wisconsin, a move one industry activist says would protect farmers from a newly enacted federal ban.

According to Rich Kremer with the Wisconsin Public Radio, the legislation introduced by state Sen. Patrick Testin, R-Stevens Point, is cosponsored by a group of five Republicans and four Democrats in the state Assembly.

It would prohibit anyone under 21 from buying hemp products containing variants of THC that make consumers high. It would also require hemp growers to get their crops tested by independent labs and mandate that hemp products be sold in child-resistant packaging.

Jay Selthofner, a longtime advocate for marijuana legalization in Wisconsin, told WPR Testin’s bill is based on concerns about how Wisconsin farmers would be affected by a federal ban on hemp products with more than 0.4 mg of THC.

The ban was slipped into the short-term funding bill that reopened the federal government in November. “So, they’re really trying to protect us from the federal ban and create a program for hemp,” said Selthofner, who owns Heritage Hemp Farm in Ripon.

The Wisconsin bill doesn’t mention the federal ban, but Selthofner said by creating a state regulatory program for intoxicating hemp products, it would in effect shield growers, distributors and retailers.

He said that’s because the federal ban leaves it to states to regulate hemp, and Wisconsin currently goes through the U.S. Department of Agriculture to license growers.

“Being able to run our own program protects us a lot more than not doing that and allows the state to control much more aspects of it than just relying on a federal program that could be conceived as loosely written,” Selthofner said.

Regardless of the federal government’s actions, Selthofner believes Wisconsin needs a regulatory system for intoxicating hemp products. He said the state’s industry already polices itself with regard to the 21-year-old age limit and child-resistant packaging, but “there are a couple bad players out there.”

He thinks Testin’s bill would create more assurances for the general public. Selthofner favors the plan over other bills being considered in the Legislature that would mimic the federal hemp ban and create a regulatory scheme similar to Wisconsin’s alcohol industry.

“The bill authors are definitely willing to listen to Wisconsin farmers in the Wisconsin industry, and that’s a first step in developing a bill that is not only passable within the Legislature, but has the support of the industry,” he said.

A competing hemp bill that also has some bipartisan support would create a “three-tier system” for intoxicating hemp. It would bar growers from selling their own product and would authorize bars, restaurants and liquor stores with Class A and B licenses to sell hemp products without applying for additional licenses.

That legislation also comes with a host of new permits and taxes for the hemp industry, which opposes the bill, arguing it will drive up costs and put small growers out of business. Groups lobbying for brewers, wineries, grocery stores and restaurants support the measure.

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