Last updated: October 2026
TL;DR: Price County banned hemp-derived cannabinoids in November 2023, by a 12-0 vote of the County Board of Supervisors. Ordinance 2023-07 added Chapter 403, Sections 403-64 through 403-68, prohibiting possession, use, and sale of Delta-8, Delta-10, HHC, THCA and similar compounds. CBD is expressly excluded. The ordinance sits uneasily beside state law, which permits those products, and nobody has tested the conflict in court. Separately, a federal change takes effect December 11, 2026 that restricts the same products nationwide.
What does the Price County ordinance actually say?
The county’s own record is specific. Ordinance 2023-07 amended the County Code “by Adding Chapter 403 Peace and Good Order Article XV Possession and Sale of Hemp-derived Cannabinoid Substances.” It was adopted on November 14, 2023, on a roll call of 12 yes and 0 no.
Section 403-64 is one sentence: “Possession, use, and/or the sale of marijuana, hashish (any form thereof), and derivatives of tetrahydrocannabinol from the cannabis plant are prohibited as stated herein.”
The reach of that sentence is in the definition, not the prohibition. Section 403-65 defines marijuana to include “any hemp-derived cannabinoids including, but not limited to” a list that names Delta-8 THC, Delta-10 THC, Hexahydrocannabinol (HHC), HHC-O, THCA, THC-O, THCP, and THCV — and also covers “a hemp-derived product containing Delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol in a concentration of 0.3% or less.”
That last clause is the whole argument in one line. A product legal under federal and state hemp law, because it contains less than 0.3% delta-9 THC, is defined as marijuana under this county ordinance.
The same definition then carves out CBD: the term “does not include non-intoxicating cannabinols, including cannabidiol (CBD), which is an active ingredient in cannabis, but does not cause intoxication by itself, is not addictive, and does not contain other isomers as set forth herein.”
So CBD oil remains lawful to possess and sell in Price County under this chapter. Delta-8 gummies and THC seltzers do not.
How is it enforced?
Section 403-68 gives three mechanisms. The county may seek an injunction in any court of competent jurisdiction. Any drug or paraphernalia used in a violation “shall be seized and forfeited to the County.” And a violation carries a forfeiture set by Chapter 290 of the County Code, plus the cost of prosecution.
A forfeiture is a civil money penalty, not a criminal conviction. That distinction matters for anyone weighing the risk: the chapter creates exposure to fines and seizure, and it does not create a crime where state law has none.
There is also a practitioner exemption. Section 403-67 states the article does not apply to manufacturers, practitioners, pharmacists, and pharmacy owners “whose conduct is in accordance with Wis. Stats. Ch. 961” — the state’s controlled substances chapter.
The vote, and who brought it
The ordinance came from the Law Enforcement Committee, submitted by Chair Larry Palecek along with Doug Erickson, Brian Ernst, Robert Kopisch, and Ginny Strobl. County Administrator Nicholas Trimner reviewed it. Chair Alan Barkstrom and County Clerk Jean Gottwald signed it.
The record shows something worth noting. Before the adoption vote, the board first took up a motion by Spacek and Erickson “to approve amendments to the originally submitted ordinance as presented.” That amendment vote also passed 12-0. The board changed the ordinance before passing it, unanimously, and the record does not show what those amendments were.
Anyone who wants that detail has to ask the clerk for the pre-amendment draft.
Price County was not first. The City of Phillips Committee of the Whole approved its own addition to the municipal code banning cannabinoid variants in February 2023, as the Price County Review reported at the time. The county action followed nine months later.
The conflict nobody has tested
Wisconsin has no legal medical or recreational marijuana. It does, however, permit hemp-derived cannabinoid products that meet the federal hemp definition, and it has not passed a state licensing scheme for them.
Price County then prohibited those same products within its borders. That is a county ordinance reaching conduct the state permits, and the question of whether it survives a preemption challenge has not been answered by any court.
Two readings are defensible. One holds that Wisconsin’s hemp statute occupies the field and a county cannot prohibit what the state allows, which would make the ordinance unenforceable. The other holds that counties retain authority over local public health and order under their general ordinance power, which would make it enforceable until a court says otherwise.
What is not defensible is describing the legal status as settled in either direction. As of October 2026, it is unsettled, and the ordinance stands on the books.
What this means if you sell it or drink it
For a retailer in the county, the practical position is that the products are lawful under state law and prohibited under county code, with a civil forfeiture as the exposure. That is an uncomfortable place to run a business, and because the ordinance applies countywide, a shop in Phillips and a shop in Fifield or Park Falls all face the same rule once they are inside Price County. The split that matters is at the county line.
For a customer, the risk is lower but not zero. The ordinance reaches possession and use, not only sale.
The enforcement record is thin. The chapter authorizes forfeitures, and we have not found a published case of the county pursuing one. That absence is not proof of non-enforcement, and it is not a defense.
And then there is December 11
The county ordinance is not the only clock running. The federal definition of hemp changes on December 11, 2026, capping total THC at 0.4 milligrams per container, which eliminates most seltzers and gummies nationwide regardless of what any county does.
After that date the two layers converge in an odd way. Products the county already prohibited become federally impermissible as hemp. The county ordinance would matter mainly if Congress delays the federal change or a court voids the county’s version first.
We covered the federal mechanics, the delay from November 12, and what it means for a rural county in a separate article: THC Drinks Become Illegal in Wisconsin Dec. 11.
What we could not establish
Three things remain open, and we are labeling them rather than filling them in.
Ordinance 2023-07’s pre-amendment text does not appear in the annual proceedings book. The record shows the board amended it before adoption but not what changed.
No published enforcement history exists. We found the authority to impose forfeitures and no account of one being imposed.
Economic cost remains unquantified. This article previously stated that the county’s stance cost $3.4 million annually in lost tax revenue and that Michigan had 27 dispensaries within a 90-minute drive. Neither figure had a source, and both have been removed.
Frequently asked questions
Is THC legal in Price County, Wisconsin?
It depends which law you read. Hemp-derived cannabinoids are lawful under Wisconsin law. Price County Ordinance 2023-07 prohibits their possession, use, and sale within the county, with a civil forfeiture as the penalty. No court has resolved the conflict.
When did Price County ban hemp-derived cannabinoids?
November 14, 2023, by a 12-0 vote of the County Board of Supervisors. The ordinance is numbered 2023-07 and appears in the County Code at Chapter 403, Sections 403-64 through 403-68.
Does the ban cover CBD?
No. Section 403-65 expressly excludes non-intoxicating cannabinols including cannabidiol. CBD remains lawful under this chapter. Delta-8, Delta-10, HHC, THCA, and comparable compounds are covered.
Is violating the ordinance a crime?
No. Section 403-68 provides for an injunction, seizure and forfeiture of the product, and a money forfeiture under Chapter 290 plus costs of prosecution. Those are civil remedies.
Can the county prohibit something Wisconsin allows?
That is the unresolved question. The ordinance has not been tested on preemption grounds, so the answer is currently whatever a court would say, and none has ruled.
What changes on December 11, 2026?
The federal hemp definition tightens to a 0.4 milligram total-THC cap per container. That removes most intoxicating hemp products nationwide, which makes the county ordinance largely redundant for those items.
See also: our guide to free camping in Wisconsin
See also: what makes Price County communities special
See also: our guide to Price County public records
Sources
Price County Annual Proceeding Book, April 18, 2023 – February 20, 2024, published by Price County: the ordinance list at printed pages 40-41 and the full text of Ordinance 2023-07 at printed pages 44-45, including the November 14, 2023 roll call and the definition of marijuana in Section 403-65. Price County Code, Chapter 403, Article listing “Possession and Sale of Hemp-derived Cannabinoid Substances” as codified on eCode360. Price County Review, “Phillips bans cannabinoid variants,” February 16, 2023, on the City of Phillips action. Congressional Research Service, Changes to the Statutory Definition of Hemp (September 28, 2026), for the December 11 federal date and the 0.4 milligram cap.
Correction, October 21, 2026: an earlier version of this article asserted a $3.4 million annual cost, 27 Michigan dispensaries within 90 minutes, active local enforcement targeting businesses, and a federal effective date of March 31, 2026 with a 0.3% total-THC threshold. None of those held up. The figures had no source, and the federal date and threshold were wrong. The article now rests on the county’s own ordinance text.