Edible Brands, the Sandy Springs-based maker of well-known fruit bouquets, is expanding its online THC marketplace to 30 states, even as the hemp industry faces pushback from lawmakers.
In March, Edible expanded beyond selling its iconic Edible Arrangements and other sweet treats into hemp products with federally legal amounts of THC through its aptly named platform, Edibles.com.
It sells hemp-derived THC products like chews, drinks and herbal supplement pills. The company piloted Edibles.com in Texas over the past few months, weathering a nearly successful push by the state’s lawmakers to effectively ban all THC products.
“What’s most important for us … is, you know, creating a platform where we are featuring safe, trusted, well-tested brands,” Somia Farid Silber, CEO of Edible Brands, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Now, Edibles.com is shipping chews to all states where it is legal, and the full range of its products can be delivered the same day in Georgia, North Carolina, Florida and Texas, tapping into Edible Brands’ robust supply chain and logistics network.
Selling THC-infused products is legal because of the 2018 Farm Bill, a federal law that legalized hemp farming and its sale as long as the amount of THC did not exceed 0.3% by dry weight. Traditional marijuana remains illegal for recreational purposes under federal laws and statutes in many states, including Georgia.
But some lawmakers are now scrutinizing the hemp and THC markets that have blossomed in the years since the Farm Bill was passed, a move Silber said she welcomes.
“I think it’s actually really important that these conversations are happening, because there does need to be a safe environment and a safe space to purchase these products and learn about them,” she said. “So we actually welcome the additional scrutiny and the conversation that’s happening around the industry.”
Earlier this month, Edibles.com’s executive vice president and general manager, Thomas Winstanley, met with lawmakers and members of the Trump administration in Washington.
In his meetings, Winstanley said he often pointed to Georgia’s 2024 hemp law — which limits sales to consumers 21 and older, mandates product testing and bans some products such as prerolled, smokable hemp cigarettes — as a model other states could follow.
“Georgia remains an example of thoughtful regulatory policy,” Winstanley said.
But the state’s lawmakers are still scrutinizing the hemp industry. Though the General Assembly did not pass bills that would have tightened regulations on Delta-8 and THC beverages this year, similar proposals could come back in 2026.
In July, a new House Study Committee on Georgia’s Medical Marijuana and Hemp Policies met for the first of four meetings ahead of next year’s legislative session. It is expected to make recommendations that could turn into bills.
Other states have made more existential challenges to the industry. This spring, the Texas Legislature advanced a bill championed by its lieutenant governor that would have effectively banned the sale of all THC products in the state.
But Texas Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed it in June. Last week, he issued an executive order that banned the sale of hemp-derived products to minors, and ordered a review of current rules and a look at longer-term regulation.
“What we saw in Texas was a painful, but I would argue healthy, conversation given the executive order issued by Abbott last week that helps create safeguards,” Winstanley said.
Still, Edible is “thinking through contingency plans and really looking at broadening the offering past what it is today” into the larger health and wellness category, Silber said.
But the company is continuing with its original plans for Edibles.com. Along with expanding to dozens of states, it is now building out its first brick-and-mortar THC edibles location in Inman Park, just off the Beltline. Silber said she hopes to open it early next year.
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
