Idaho proposes $1,000-a-year licenses for each site selling ingestible or inhalable hemp products

Idaho's agriculture department has proposed licensing and fee rules for businesses that sell hemp products intended for human ingestion or inhalation, and it will take public testimony on the plan Tuesday, Oct. 20.

The proposed fee rule, Docket No. 02-0107-2601, appears in the Oct. 7 Idaho Administrative Bulletin. It would update the state's Rules Governing Hemp to match two 2026 laws: House Bill 879, which brought establishments offering hemp products for ingestion or inhalation under Idaho's industrial hemp law, and House Bill 772, which clarified non-negligent violations in hemp production. Legislative records show H.879 was signed April 2 and took effect July 1. Nonviable hulled hemp seed, hemp protein powder and hemp seed oil are excluded.

Under the proposal, each physical, online, digital or distribution location would need its own retail license. Retailers would pay a $100 annual application fee and a $1,000 annual license fee, with annual inspections included in the license cost. The department could also make random inspections during reasonable business hours, collect product samples and notify law enforcement of prohibited cannabis products, which the draft defines as any product containing THC, with an exception for biomass under a producer license. Retailers would keep sales, acquisition and disposal records for three years, and a retailer with three negligent violations in five years would have its license revoked.

The department estimates about 100 businesses will apply for retail licenses, bringing in roughly $110,000 for the hemp program against about $95,000 in program costs. The hearing is set for 10 a.m. Mountain time at the department's Boise office, with a virtual option, and written comments are due Oct. 28, according to the notice. The Marijuana Herald reported on the proposal Oct. 6.