Wisconsin is just one of 10 states where marijauna is illegal for both medical and recreational use. But since 2018, a federal loophole allowed cannabis products to become an industry worth millions in the state — that is, until Congress closed the legal loophole at the end of the 2025 federal government shutdown. As 2026 begins, business owners are scrambling before the ban takes effect in November.

“We were still planning on growing, we were actually already making adjustments for next year,” said Joni Sayers, owner of Hemp Haven Farms in Deerfield.

Sayers and her husband Jeff were among the first hemp farmers in Wisconsin after the 2018 Farm Bill made hemp legal to grow for industrial use. The technical loophole in the law invited a new kind of industry to take hold.

“So we thought, well, that would be great. A small farm, sustainable crop — that would be great to grow,” she said.

For the past seven years, the Sayers have been growing hemp and making it into products containing THC, the chemicals that cause a high. They sell gummies, lip balms, tinctures and topicals at local farmers’ markets. They’d just finished the 2025 harvest and were about to board a plane when they heard the news — the bill that ended the longest federal government shutdown in the history of the United States closed the hemp loophole and will make their products illegal.

“Devastated, right? I mean, it was, just had the wind knocked out of us for a minute. But our first thought was, well, we live, eat and breathe hemp, this is our life, right?” Joni Sayers said.

The 2018 Farm Bill defined “hemp” as a cannabis plant having less than 0.3% of delta-9 THC, a specific kind of THC. Since then, delta-9 derivatives have blossomed into an industry worth billions. The new stricter rules effectively ban all forms of THC for consumption.

“Yeah, so we upgraded two more new greenhouses last year and we were debating whether we should do it this year, but I think everything at this point will probably be on hold for a few months,” said Jeff Sayers.

In Wisconsin, it’s estimated hemp is a $700 million industry, providing 3,500 jobs. Businesses like Hemp Haven Farms are on a countdown before their THC goods are banned and have to figure out what to do next.

“Mmm, we sell our farm?” asked Joni.

“At this point, I’m going to go back to what I was, considering myself semi-retired. Obviously, I have to take myself out of retirement to go back into building and home remodeling,” Jeff said.

Hemp has also expanded into other industries in Wisconsin. Eagle Park Brewing Company has been a staple of Milwaukee’s brewery scene for years. In 2023, the company’s president Max Borgardt and his partners decided to make the jump to THC drinks.

“We’ve always been pro THC in all industries, and we had our customers start asking and figuring out, are we going to jump into this industry?” Borgardt said, “It made sense for us to do it at that time.”

THC drinks are now a significant chunk of their profit.

“It ends up being, I think, like 16% this year,” he shared. “When we started out, it was a very small percentage. But I think the thing is — it’s growing like crazy. It’s growing so fast.’

The provision to ban hemp was slipped into the bill that ended the government shutdown. It happened so fast, not everyone heard about it.

“We didn’t,” said Jeff.

“I heard some inklings, but we thought, no, that won’t happen, but not in a, not on this federal level — no,” Joni said.

“We also didn’t have any idea that it was something that they were going to attach to this reopening and funding the government bill. Here it is!” her husband added.

“I mean, it’s billions of dollars on the line and the public didn’t know, the companies didn’t, and they did it within two days,” Borgardt said. “So when it went through the Senate, it immediately went to the House and that window was two days. There’s not enough time to react and not enough time to do anything.”

With a new year, he has to figure out what to do if the ban sticks.

“[2026] could have been an incredible year for us just because of how the segment has been doing,” said Borgardt.

Critics consider products with under .3% levels of THC to effectively be legal marijuana and in Wisconsin, hemp products is an unregulated industry.

“I think that’s the thing, is like no one’s asking for it to be the Wild West. Everyone wants things to be done the right way and appropriately. And we run an upstanding business. We’re supportive of that. I think everyone is willing to work with them to get that to happen,” Borgardt said.

“I think the opportunity for states and the federal government to make tax revenue — they can tax it. I mean, we’re taxed on the alcohol that we produce and the spirits that we produce. There’s an excise tax on those. We welcome an excised tax if that’s what needs to happen to have regulation in place,” he continued.

“We are opposed to a ban, obviously. Regulation is good, right? There should be an age restriction. There should be truth and accuracy in labeling,” said Joni Sayers.

The Sayers worry when everything hemp is off the table, it becomes under the table.

“If this happens, the black market will grow. So, that is unregulated. I worry about the safety of products that might be out there that are unregulated,” she said.

Both Hemp Haven and Eagle Park have their products tested by labs and sell only to those above the age of 21. Prior to the federal ban, state lawmakers proposed their own bill to close the loophole. Other bills before the Wisconsin Legislature would legalize and regulate THC and hemp.

But without new state laws on the books, the federal ban is set to take effect. For Wisconsin, time is running out for hemp.

“I’ll tell you, I had about three times the online orders this week than I normally do,” said Joni Sayers. “People are panicking, I’m sure.”