Federal THC ban set to hit Denton beverage makers in December
Wild Revival founders say a 0.4 milligram limit will force them to close their manufacturing plants and lose 95% of revenue.
By Adriana Abebe ·
Square, one of the largest payment processors in the country, handles at least 45% of the revenue for Wild Revival. The company sent an email to founders Michael Williams and Andrew Martin on Tuesday, November 8, stating it will end its business relationship because of a looming federal ban.
The new federal rules will take effect on December 11. They ban any hemp-derived product that contains more than 0.4 milligrams of THC per container. Wild Revival sells beverages with THC levels of 10, 25, and 50 milligrams. Williams said no products currently on the market fall within the new guidelines.
"I couldn't even imagine a 0.4 mg Tic-Tac," Williams said. He stated that the new law will put his company out of business. Martin added that the company faces a unique challenge because it acts as both the brand owner and the manufacturer. The founders invested personal money into the plants they use for production.
Martin said 95% of the company's revenue comes from cannabis-based products. If they lose the ability to bring in that revenue, he said the company will be in a very hard position. The new state restrictions on smokable hemp earlier this year already removed a large part of the market. Beverage makers believed they were safe until the federal government moved to include them in the ban.
Williams expressed hope that the rule will be reversed before the deadline. He noted that many elected officials who won on Tuesday and will take office next year ran on a platform supporting the industry. He said those candidates emphasized that the sector has grown and that people entered the market in good faith. He described the industry as mostly small businesses built over years of hard work.
The payment processor's decision forces small businesses to find alternative methods for handling transactions. Williams said the timing of the email is very timely for their business. The company must now figure out a new path forward while federal legislation remains unchanged.
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