When Progress Feels Fragile: Hemp, Rollbacks, and Why Cannabis Consumers Have to Step Up

Carlos Hermida
5 days ago
7 min read

Recap of the latest episode of The Rotation with Suncoast NORML

The Sunday before Thanksgiving is supposed to be about gratitude. On the latest episode of The Rotation, it felt more like: “What the hell just happened – and how do we fight back?”

With a last-minute federal budget deal, Congress quietly passed Section 781, a provision that puts intoxicating hemp products on a one-year countdown to a federal ban. No hearings. No public debate. Just a back-room move that could wipe out thousands of small businesses while leaving prohibitionist power structures intact.

To unpack what this means for hemp, cannabis, and the legalization movement, Suncoast NORML’s Gary Stein, Carlos Angel Hermida, and Cano were joined by two heavy hitters:

Adam Smith, new Executive Director of the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP)
Morgan Fox, Political Director and federal lobbyist for NORML

What followed was a hard, honest conversation about the hemp ban, the growing wave of rollback efforts in legal states, and why NORML, MPP, and grassroots chapters like Suncoast NORML are more important than ever.

How We Got Here: A Hemp Ban in the Dead of Night

Chris kicked things off by laying out the stakes:

The federal government reopened…
Veterans still can’t get medical cannabis recommendations through the VA, despite bipartisan support…
And when the industry woke up, intoxicating hemp products had been put on a one-year fuse.

The way it happened should sound familiar to anyone who knows cannabis history.

Back in 1937, the Marihuana Tax Act was forced through Congress by powerful corporate interests, against the advice of the American Medical Association, to cement prohibition. The same pattern is emerging again: special interests, closed-door deals, and public health rhetoric used as cover for economic turf wars.

The new hemp provision doesn’t immediately ban products – it gives a roughly 365-day runway. But as Adam pointed out, that runway is also a battlefield:

This year is either the end of a huge chunk of the hemp industry – or our best chance to build a sane, unified cannabinoid policy grounded in public health, public safety, and public access.

MPP & NORML: Grasstops and Grassroots

Adam described MPP as the “inside game” to NORML’s “outside game.”

For 30 years, MPP has run state campaigns and ballot initiatives, helping win medical and adult-use legalization in state after state.
NORML, for over 50 years, has been the voice of cannabis consumers and the grassroots base, from local chapters to national lobbying.

Both organizations are now facing a funding crunch:

Big philanthropists assumed the for-profit cannabis industry would step up.
The cannabis industry has been crushed by over-regulation, 280E, high taxes, and shrinking margins.
Hemp money has been redirected into survival fights instead of long-term reform.

The result? The people who actually fight prohibition full-time – NORML, MPP, and local chapters like Suncoast NORML – are expected to do more with less, at the exact moment prohibitionists are regaining momentum.

Prohibition Never Left – It Just Changed Tactics

Morgan walked through how we got to this hemp backlash:

The 2018 Farm Bill opened a massive market and normalized cannabinoid use in places without legal cannabis.
But bad actors pumped out untested products, sold to kids online, and handed prohibitionists a media narrative gift.
Congress responded with a sledgehammer instead of a scalpel.

At the same time, we’re seeing:

Republican support for cannabis legalization dropping sharply in polling.
Longtime prohibition groups like Project SAM doing a victory lap over the hemp ban and gearing up to roll back legalization in the states.
Traditional industries – alcohol, big brands, and other “poison peddlers” – lobbying hard to keep their profits safe from cannabinoid competition.

The message: this isn’t just about hemp. It’s about whether any cannabinoid access – hemp or marijuana – is framed as a public health crisis or a regulated, adult-use consumer product.

On the Ground: A Hemp Store Caught in the Crossfire

Carlos spoke for a lot of small hemp operators:

“I’ve got two stores. I’m trying to do this the right way. I test my products. I curate. I follow the law. And now I’m being told I might have one year to live… and I don’t even know who’s fighting for me.”

He raised uncomfortable questions many in the industry are whispering:

Are some national hemp groups aligned with prohibitionists or trying to monopolize the market?
Are alcohol distributors and big beverage players pushing policy that leaves small hemp stores behind while allowing THC drinks only in liquor stores?
If he donates to the wrong trade association, is he literally funding his own extinction?

Adam’s honest answer: Everyone is confused. Alliances are still forming. Lobbying positions aren’t settled. The next few months – and which bills are introduced – will reveal who’s really on which side.

In the meantime, he reminded everyone: the real constant enemy is prohibition – and the people and organizations whose business model depends on criminalization and fear.

Rollbacks Are Real: Massachusetts, Ohio, Michigan, and Beyond

If you think “we already legalized, so we’re good,” this episode should be a wake-up call.

Adam and Morgan walked through some disturbing trends:

Ohio – Lawmakers are already rolling back parts of the voter-approved adult-use initiative, including attempts to criminalize simply sharing a joint.
Nebraska – Voters overwhelmingly supported medical cannabis, only to have politicians gut the program down to topicals and suppositories.
Massachusetts – A ballot initiative backed by prohibitionists would end adult-use sales and home grow while leaving possession technically legal – a setup for a future narrative that “legalization failed.”
Michigan – A crushing 24% wholesale tax proposal threatens to make the legal market economically unsustainable.

This is the new prohibitionist strategy:

Attack the regulated market, not just possession.
Remove the benefits of legalization – jobs, tax revenue, tested products, reduced illicit markets.
Then claim legalization was a “disaster” and push to recriminalize.

That’s why Adam argued this needs to be NORML’s moment – a moment where cannabis consumers realize they still need a strong, unified voice at the local, state, and federal levels.

Federal Chaos: Hemp Ban, Public Lands, and Political Games

On the federal level, things aren’t much prettier.

Morgan flagged several worrying developments:

A Biden-era directive that quietly discouraged federal prosecutions for simple cannabis possession on federal lands has apparently been rescinded under the current administration – starting with Wyoming.
That means hikers, tourists, and everyday people on federal property may once again be fair game for simple possession busts.
The administration talks about rescheduling when politically convenient, but continues to support hard-line drug war policies elsewhere.

As for lawsuits challenging federal prohibition (like the Massachusetts case attacking Gonzales v. Raich), neither Morgan nor Adam believe the current Supreme Court is likely to overturn nearly a century of Commerce Clause precedent for cannabis.

Realistically?

Congress will move slowly.
The states will continue to be the main engine of reform.
And we need to use this time to build power, recruit allies, and punish bad votes at the ballot box.

Morgan was blunt:

Showing lawmakers good polling isn’t enough. Until politicians start losing elections over their cannabis positions, many of them won’t take us seriously.

NORML Is Not “Big Weed” – It’s You

One key theme of the episode was clearing up a common misunderstanding:

NORML is not an industry lobby.
NORML’s mission is to protect consumers – from arrest, from losing jobs, from losing custody, and from unsafe products.

So when people say “NORML did nothing” or “NORML supported the hemp ban,” that’s not just wrong – it distracts from the real fights.

Right now, NORML is:

Working in Congress to protect housing, employment, parental rights, veterans’ access, and more.
Filing and supporting legislation to shield consumers, not corporate bottom lines.
Running an Action Center that lets people send targeted messages to lawmakers with a few clicks.

At the same time, MPP is:

Running and supporting state campaigns to win and defend legalization.
Fighting rollback initiatives that would end adult-use sales or make legal markets unworkable.
Trying to keep the lights on in an era where reform philanthropy has “moved on” without finishing the job.

If you care about cannabis freedom, both organizations need you.

The Numbers Don’t Lie: Arrests and Science

In the news segment, Gary reminded everyone why this fight is far from over:

In just eight states, police made over 100,000 marijuana-related arrests last year.
States like Texas led the nation, with the vast majority of those arrests for simple possession, not trafficking or cultivation.
Many states under-report or don’t report at all – meaning the real numbers are likely even higher.

At the same time, new research keeps undercutting prohibitionist talking points. One clinical trial highlighted in the show found that smoking cannabis significantly reduced alcohol intake among participants with histories of both alcohol and cannabis use.

In other words: while politicians cry “we need more research,” the research we already have keeps showing cannabis as a harm reduction tool, not a gateway to chaos.

So… Now What? Your Role in the Fight

The episode ended on a simple truth: everyone on that show started out like you.

Regular cannabis consumers. Sick of being criminalized. Tired of waiting for someone else to fix it.

Here’s how you can plug in right now:

Join or support Suncoast NORML. If you’re in Florida or the Tampa Bay area, this is your local frontline. Your time, treasure, and talent all matter.
Go to NORML’s Action Center: norml.org/act
- Send emails to your state legislators and members of Congress.
- Support bills on employment protections, parental rights, and ending criminal penalties for responsible adult use.
- Yes, you can literally do it from your couch.
Become a member or start a chapter: norml.org/join No chapter near you? Start one – just like Suncoast NORML did.
Support MPP: mpp.org Help them keep winning and defending state legalization campaigns – and stopping rollback efforts in places like Massachusetts and Michigan.
Show up for elections. Learn which candidates support real reform. Primary the bad ones. Reward the good ones. Make cannabis a voting issue.

A Thanksgiving Reminder

At the beginning of the episode, Gary joked that he wasn’t sure what he was thankful for this year.

By the end, it was pretty clear:

He was thankful for advocates like Morgan and Adam who grind in DC and state capitols every day.
Thankful for activists and organizers who refuse to give up, even when progress feels fragile.
And thankful for you – anyone willing to roll up their sleeves and fight for a future where no one goes to jail, loses their kids, or gets sick from bad products just because they use cannabis.

This Thanksgiving, when you look around the table, remember: The people you love are exactly who this movement is for.

And it’s on all of us to make sure prohibition finally, actually, ends.