ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — For Franny Tacy, cannabis isn’t a trend, it’s been her life’s work.

“I’ve had a very close relationship with cannabis since I was a teenager,” she said. “I kept it hidden for decades.”

Now, she’s no longer hiding.

Tacy is a farmer, business owner and advocate, one of the first people to legally plant hemp in North Carolina in 2017. Today, she runs a vertically integrated cannabis business and works openly in an industry she says has long operated in the shadows.

“And here we are all this time later,” she said, “still working in this fine line between legal and illegal.”

A market hiding in plain sight

That “fine line” is exactly what state leaders say needs to change.

A new interim report from the North Carolina Advisory Council on Cannabis describes the state’s current marketplace as largely unregulated, where intoxicating cannabis products are widely available, but rules around them are not.

Tacy puts it more bluntly.

“This is what the wild west is,” she said. “We have unregulated product flowing freely while we also have a black market.”

The report estimates about $3 billion is spent on illegal marijuana annually in North Carolina, along with another $1 billion in hemp-derived THC products, much of it sold without consistent standards.

Confusion by design

Part of the problem, Tacy says, is that most people don’t even understand what they’re buying.

“We’ve divided one plant into three different categories,” she said. “And people are confused.”

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Marijuana remains illegal in North Carolina. But hemp, which is currently legalized, can still be used to create products that get users high. That includes compounds like Delta-8 and THCA, often sold in storefronts across the state.

“In North Carolina we have all of them legal,” Tacy said. “So when you go into a hemp dispensary a lot of that can get you high. It’s just the way it is.”

No rules, real risks

Right now, there are few statewide guardrails.

No required age verification.

No mandatory testing standards.

No consistent labeling.

No limits on potency.

Tacy says that lack of oversight shows up in the products themselves.

“We have heavy metals, we have plastics, there are pesticides,” she said. “People are smoking things that are compoundingly bad for your lungs.”

State leaders say the lack of regulation is creating real consequences.

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According to the advisory council report, emergency department visits related to cannabis ingestion among children have increased sharply in recent years, more than 600% for those 17 and under, and more than 1,000% for older teens.

North Carolina Governor Josh Stein called that trend “a real public health concern,” pointing to products that can resemble candy and are easily accessible to minors.

“There’s no law that says a 15-year-old cannot go buy some product. We are living with our head in the sand,” Stein said. “Kids are at risk of purchasing these products and nobody has any idea what’s in them.”

A push for regulation

In response, Stein created the North Carolina Advisory Council on Cannabis in 2025, bringing together law enforcement, medical professionals, farmers and industry leaders.

Their recommendation so far: move toward a regulated adult-use cannabis market, similar to alcohol, with:

• Age restrictions
• Product testing
• Clear labeling
• Enforcement standards

The council also recommends regulating cannabis based on THC content, rather than separating hemp and marijuana, acknowledging the two are often indistinguishable in effect.

What’s at stake

For Tacy, the issue isn’t just policy, it’s personal.

She says she’s seen cannabis help people with anxiety, pain and other conditions. She’s also seen the economic potential, especially for farmers.

“There is so much money that we are missing out on,” she said. “We need these tax dollars supporting our farmers, our schools, our economy.”

But she also knows what uncertainty can cost.

“We’ve had farmers lose everything,” she said, recalling crops destroyed after failing to meet legal standards. “We’ve got to get this straight and get this right.”

What happens next

Any changes to North Carolina law would have to go through the General Assembly. Stein says he does not expect action during the current short session, but hopes lawmakers will take up the issue in the next full session.

“The truth is, by not doing anything is the absolute worst thing we can do as a state” he said.

For Tacy, the path forward is clear, even if the timeline is not.

“I’ve known my entire life this was going to happen,” she said. “We’re just still waiting to catch up.”