New US seed ban risks driving cannabis genetics underground, growers warn

A man who did not want to be identified holds marijuana seeds as he and others shared seeds at an event on 26 March 2015 in Washington DC. Photograph: The Washington Post/Getty Images

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.