For 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.

“That work for epilepsy or that work for pain or that work for chemotherapy nausea. What these consumers are relying on is going to be gone,” Pearson said.

Growing at home can be especially important for medical consumers and anyone concerned about their health.

“To grow any kind of plant always makes you feel better, the act of growing is medicine for yourself already,” says Martínez, who also pointed out that homegrown cannabis can help the health of the planet as it eliminates many of the environmental costs of transporting and packaging products.

Pearson agrees that homegrown cannabis allows consumers to avoid contaminants like pesticides, mold and heavy metals.

“You’re in control of what you’re putting into the plant,” she said.

It’s unclear how seed companies will be expected to prove that their products can only grow plants with low levels of THC in order to comply with the hemp ban, but Pearson thinks whatever these restrictions are, only a handful of the most well-resourced companies will be able to do it. She compares the variety of cannabis seeds available now to the varieties of wine available in stores.

“These genetics are really the heart and soul of the cannabis industry. It’s sort of like when you talk about the difference between a pinot noir grape and a chardonnay grape,” Pearson said, adding that these grapes can make many subtly different varieties of wine, and that cannabis can have even more variety.

But if the ban goes through, she noted, “it’s going to be a handful of the really large companies that have those right licenses. All those genetics, the good wine will go underground, and you’re just going to get Ernest and Julio Gallo, rather than all the varietals that we can get at our local wine store. And so it’s going to really impact the consumer experience.”