Why Big Cannabis Hates the Farm Bill (And Why You Should Care)
How Big Cannabis is lobbying to ban hemp, rewrite the Farm Bill, crush small businesses, and create a monopoly over THC products—putting consumer access, affordability, and innovation at risk
Politics makes for strange bedfellows, but the current alliance attacking the hemp industry is one of the weirdest and most cynical I’ve ever seen.
On one side, you have the traditional prohibitionists who think all THC is a moral failing. On the other side, you have “Big Cannabis”—the massive, publicly traded Multi-State Operators (MSOs) growing marijuana in state-legal dispensaries that own a majority share of their respective markets. These are the suppliers of people on the complete opposite side of the spectrum. The problem with both sides of the spectrum is this: cannabis prohibitionists are archaic and believe the disgraced “Henry Anslinger”-style propaganda, while the growing oligopoly of cannabis companies is currently in bed with politicians in Washington, D.C., lobbying together to crush the federal hemp industry, small operators, and the small farmer to obtain full control of the market.
In today’s climate, one of the biggest fights is between Big Canna and the hemp industry. As it stands, the hemp industry is a huge obstacle to Big Canna’s corrupt endeavors. With new legislation passed to completely destroy the hemp industry, it begs the question: Why would Big Cannabis want to ban hemp? Aren’t we on the same team? Shouldn’t they support access to the plant as well?
The answer is no. Because for them, this isn’t about the plant. It’s about the monopoly.
The “Regulatory Moat”
To understand what is happening, you have to look at how Big Cannabis was built. These companies spent millions of dollars lobbying for regulations that are so complex and expensive that only they can afford to comply. They built what business strategists call a “moat.”
They want high barriers to entry. They want license fees to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Why? Because it keeps the little guys like me out. It ensures that the only people who can sell cannabis are the ones with private equity backing and an army of lawyers.
Then came the 2018 Farm Bill. It filled in the moat. It allowed small, agile businesses to enter the market based on merit, not net worth. It terrified them to the point of trying to destroy the entire industry.
The Innovation Gap
Because we aren’t bogged down by the slow-moving bureaucracy of the state marijuana systems, the hemp industry has become the true engine of innovation and excellence.
While the big dispensaries are still pushing high-THC flower, hemp operators are isolating minor cannabinoids like CBN for sleep, CBG for inflammation, and creating water-soluble formulas that actually taste good. We are the craft breweries of the cannabinoid world—experimenting, refining, and responding to what customers actually want rather than what a state board says we can sell.
Big Cannabis can’t pivot that fast. So, instead of competing with us on innovation, they are trying to legislate us out of existence.
The “Safety” Smokescreen
Big Cannabis is currently lobbying Congress to pass the 0.4 mg THC cap, claiming it’s about “consumer safety.”
Do not buy that bullshit. It is a smokescreen.
If they truly cared about safety, they would be lobbying for universal testing standards. They would be asking for age-gating. I would welcome that. At Oahu Dispensary, we already operate as if those rules exist. We enforce strict quality control because we live here.
But Big Cannabis doesn’t want us to be safe; they want us to be gone. They hate the Farm Bill because it broke their monopoly. They hate that a small guy with a business in Waikīkī can offer a product that puts their multi-million-dollar grow operation to shame.
The Hypocrisy of the Molecule
Here is the ultimate irony: the molecule they want to ban in our shop is the exact same molecule they sell in theirs.
Delta-9 THC is Delta-9 THC. It doesn’t matter if it comes from a “marijuana” plant or a “hemp” plant. Chemically, it is identical.
When Big Cannabis sells it, they call it “medicine” and charge you a premium. When I sell it, they call it “dangerous” and “unregulated.” It’s not science; it’s marketing. They don’t object to the drug; they object to the competition. The only true difference is the way it’s taxed.
The Consumer Loses
If Big Cannabis wins and the independent hemp industry is crushed, the consumer is the biggest loser.
You lose access: You will have to drive to a specific, heavily taxed dispensary just to get a mild edible for anxiety.
You lose price competition: Without the hemp market keeping them honest, dispensary prices will stay artificially high.
You lose the local touch: The hemp market is full of small business owners like me—people who pour money back into local causes. The marijuana market is increasingly owned by mainland corporations that send their profits to Wall Street.
My Business as the Last Stand
I didn’t come to Hawaiʻi to let a corporate conglomerate tell me how to run my business. I came here to serve this community and to build something big and absolutely beautiful.
The Farm Bill liberated this plant and gave it back to the people. It allowed small businesses to flourish and gave consumers a choice. We are fighting this ban because we believe you shouldn’t need a permission slip from a monopoly to access a plant that grows in the ground.
My goal with my lawsuit and advocacy efforts is to prevent the big corporate companies from taking over. I am grateful to be a single individual fighting the machine. I believe my battle will provide immense value, opportunity, and a fair fighting chance to the little guy. I am the living example of those who were counted out—those overpowered and underserved by big government, Big Cannabis, and the corruption of powerful interests.
Big Cannabis wants to put the genie back in the bottle so they can sell you that same damn bottle at a premium. We’re here to make sure the bottle stays broken and the market stays free.
Lance Alyas
Oahu Dispensary and Provisions