More than 60 hemp brands will pour unlimited tastings of THC-infused seltzers, adaptogen drinks and other wellness beverages next Saturday at a new festival in Charlotte's South End, timed just months before a federal law could wipe most of those products off shelves. The “Elevated and Infused” festival runs in two sessions, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., at Suffolk Punch's Norfolk Hall at 2905 Griffith St., and organizers expect it to sell out.
The event, first reported by Axios, is limited to guests 21 and older and will feature music from DJ Kät along with food trucks. Tickets cost $55.25 including fees and must be purchased in advance, according to the outlet's reporting from writer Alexis Clinton. Norfolk Hall, which opened in 2019 as a joint venture between Suffolk Punch and QC Catering, offers 7,500 square feet of industrial-chic indoor and outdoor space along South End's Rail Trail and can hold up to 600 people, according to details compiled by Axios Charlotte.
The tasting show also lands at a pivotal moment for the state's hemp industry. North Carolina lawmakers declined to move forward with new regulations that could have sharply limited THC products, including infused drinks, according to Axios's reporting on the festival. State House Speaker Destin Hall confirmed in early August that the House had tabled House Bill 328, which would have capped finished hemp products at 0.4 milligrams of total THC, effectively delaying any legislative action until after the November election, as reported by Axios Raleigh. The bill had already passed the state Senate in July before stalling in the House amid intense lobbying from hemp advocates.
A Billion-Dollar Industry on Edge
The reprieve matters because North Carolina's hemp sector generates an estimated $1.1 billion to $4 billion annually in economic activity and supports between 9,000 and 16,000 jobs statewide, according to NC Newsline. That growth followed the state's 2015 launch of industrial hemp farming, which expanded significantly after the 2018 federal Farm Bill opened the door to hemp-derived products nationwide.
Not everyone is cheering the delay. A coalition of North Carolina law enforcement groups — including the NC Sheriffs' Association, the Association of Chiefs of Police and the State Bureau of Investigation — formally petitioned state lawmakers in July to adopt strict total-THC caps, calling the state's unregulated hemp market a “Wild West,” per the same NC Newsline report. Law enforcement leaders have cited concerns over high-potency products and colorful packaging that they say appeals to young people.
The debate over how to regulate cannabis in North Carolina extends beyond hemp. Governor Josh Stein's Advisory Council on Cannabis voted in April to recommend legalizing adult-use marijuana for adults 21 and older under a unified “molecule-based” regulatory system that would replace the state's current unregulated hemp framework, according to reporting cited in the council's interim report. North Carolina remains one of only 10 states without a legalized adult-use or comprehensive medical marijuana program, leaving hemp-derived THC products as the sole legal retail avenue for psychoactive cannabis in the state, per that same council report.
The Federal Clock Is Ticking
Even with the state-level reprieve, festival vendors are racing against a federal deadline. A statutory change enacted in November 2025 redefines legal hemp using a total-THC standard capped at 0.4 milligrams per container, a threshold set to take effect on November 12, 2026, according to Forbes. The change would effectively reclassify most low-dose THC seltzers and edibles — the same kinds of drinks featured at the South End festival — as federal Schedule I controlled substances by closing the 2018 Farm Bill loophole that allowed delta-8, delta-10 and THCA products to flourish.
There is some last-minute maneuvering in Washington that could buy vendors more time. The U.S. Senate advanced a continuing resolution in August that would push the federal restrictions back 30 days, to December 11, 2026, but North Carolina Senator Ted Budd filed an amendment to keep the original November 12 enforcement date, according to Marijuana Moment. A coalition of 35 state attorneys general has separately petitioned Congress not to delay the restrictions at all.
Craft Beverage Makers Have Skin in the Game
The stakes extend well past hemp-specific brands. Craft breweries and alcohol distributors nationwide reported this month that hemp-derived THC drinks have become a vital growth engine offsetting declining traditional beer sales, with some taprooms reporting that THC beverages account for up to 26% of distribution revenues, per Forbes. That trend helps explain why beverage venues like Suffolk Punch have leaned into the category as younger drinkers move away from traditional beer.
Charlotte has already seen the legal gray zones around hemp play out in court. A federal civil rights lawsuit against Charlotte and CMPD was filed in July over a 2023 arrest involving legal THCA, underscoring how police field tests and sight observations often fail to cleanly separate legal hemp from illegal delta-9 marijuana. Charlotte's beverage scene has been embracing THC drinks in other ways too, from Plaza Midwood spots adding infused options to their menus to Colorado producers watching the same federal cap loom over their own products.
For now, the South End festival offers a snapshot of an industry enjoying a temporary window before the regulatory picture potentially changes dramatically. Whether that window closes in November, December, or later depends on decisions still being hashed out in Raleigh and Washington in the coming months.
