Politics
Former North Carolina Governor Appears In Ad For Son’s Hemp Company
“Sometimes the right solutions come from the most unexpected places.”
By Brandon Kingdollar, NC Newsline
The hemp industry in North Carolina has a surprising new face: former Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue.
Perdue is one of many political figures in the state connected to the state’s emerging hemp industry since its legalization through the 2018 Farm Bill. Across the aisle, state Rep. John Bell (R-Wayne), the powerful chairman of the House Rules committee and former House Majority Leader, became president of hemp company Asterra Labs in 2024. Bell has not responded to multiple requests for comment from NC Newsline.
Naternal, a Morrisville-based company founded by Perdue’s son Garrett Perdue, sells hemp-derived CBD drops, gummies, seltzers and creams. He is the CEO of its parent company, Root Biosciences, which he co-founded just as hemp products became legal nationwide.
A recent ad for the company’s $55 Lift gummies features Garrett Perdue and the former governor herself, smiling at her son’s side on their way to Cirque du Soleil. “My mom turns every errand into an adventure,” he wrote in the November 7 Facebook post. The video features photos of Bev Perdue taking the oath of office and standing beside former President Barack Obama.
“If you were spending the day with her, you would eat a gummy,” Garrett Perdue says in the ad. “You want one, mom?”
“No, thank you, it’s before my breakfast,” she replies, grinning. “I’ll have one at lunch.”
Naternal did not respond to an inquiry about the former governor’s role in the company.
The many political figures who have stakes in the future of the hemp industry in North Carolina and nationwide could complicate a new ban on most recreational hemp products in November 2026, a measure that was attached to the bipartisan agreement to fund the government that ended the federal shutdown.
Opponents of hemp supplements say the products carry many of the same risks as marijuana. They point to a sharp rise in cannabis-related emergency room visits since the legalization of recreational CBD products, which are currently not age-restricted in North Carolina.
Most of the products sold by Naternal are set to become illegal under the ban, which restricts the sale of any hemp products containing more than 0.4 milligrams of THC per container. The Lift gummies in the ad contain roughly 90 milligrams per container, well above the new threshold. Only two of the company’s products are advertised as THC-free.
The “Our Story” page of Naternal’s website credits Bev Perdue as “the compass we needed,” describing how Garrett Perdue first became interested in hemp supplements to help his daughter’s childhood insomnia. Though the former governor put him in touch with top researchers at UNC, Duke, and Harvard Medical School, none could solve her granddaughter’s sleep issues, the website claims.
A hemp extract finally helped her get her to sleep again—a result that led Bev Perdue to ask her son to “send me everything you know about hemp,” according to the site.
“Sometimes the right solutions come from the most unexpected places,” she says in a quote beside her official gubernatorial portrait on Naternal’s website.
This story was first published by NC Newsline.
