The Guardian has this important story
or the first time since 2018, the sale of cannabis seeds in the US will be restricted due to a last-minute provision in the spending bill that ended the government shutdown last month – a move that experts say will kill the market in this country.
Cannabis seed companies have enjoyed comparatively relaxed regulatory standards for the past several years because seeds themselves contain a negligible amount of THC, the compound that makes cannabis federally illegal.
Sergio Martínez, chief executive officer and founder of Spain-based Blimburn Seeds, said that the 2018 farm bill eased restrictions on seeds by defining hemp as any product containing less than 0.3% delta 9 THC.
“This definition was reinforced in 2022 when the DEA formally clarified that cannabis seeds meeting this threshold are legally considered hemp and therefore are not controlled substances under the Controlled Substances Act, even if the plants grown from them may exceed the THC limit,” Martínez said.
Since then, most states have allowed seeds to be purchased and shipped without triggering any drug laws, and companies can sell and import seeds without special permits.
But the provision in the spending bill that will ban most hemp products includes explicit language to ban seeds as well. The ban will restrict “any viable seeds from a Cannabis sativa L. plant that exceeds a total tetrahydrocannabinol concentration (including THCA) of 0.3% in the plant on a dry weight basis”, essentially restricting seeds based on the plants they might produce.
Experts in the industry say this way of regulating seeds will destroy the market and doesn’t make logical sense.
“All [seeds] look the same until you wait a minimum of three months to see what they really are. There is a misunderstanding about strains, even hemp plants registered in Europe as less than 0.3% THC if you are a good grower, you could get these numbers up,” Martínez said. “So how are you able to know what kind of seed is legal and what is not?”
In the current legal landscape, seeds “can even be shipped internationally”, Martínez noted. While the US now has the world’s most robust cannabis seed market, Martínez expects that if the ban goes through, “other countries will take the lead”.
The ban will be especially impactful for individual consumers who grow their own cannabis. In some states, growing cannabis is illegal even if seeds are not. In others, individuals can legally grow a limited amount – sometimes only with a medical cannabis card.
Jamie Pearson, president and founder of the New Holland Group, an international cannabis consultancy, is especially concerned for consumers who grow their own plants for medical reasons. The legal seed market has allowed some companies to cultivate strains.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/dec/06/cannabis-seed-ban-growers-warn
