The $28 billion U.S. hemp industry will have to look somewhere other than a new Farm Bill for relief from the hemp THC ban set to take effect in November.
After two days of contentious back-and-forth amendments, the House Agriculture Committee on Thursday morning advanced a version of the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 that doesn’t halt or delay eliminating federal protections for hemp THC.
The new Farm Bill addresses hemp but contains language that would revoke for five years the U.S. Department of Agriculture license of any hemp program participant “who knowingly produces a crop that is inconsistent with the designation of only industrial hemp.”
It also further tweaks the federal redefinition of hemp to include only cannabis plants with no more than 0.3% total THC, inclusive of THCA.
Hemp advocates’ best hopes are now pinned on separate, standalone legislation.
But in the meantime, manufacturers, sellers and consumers of popular hemp THC products such as the beverages sold at mainstream retailers and arenas are in a state of uncertainty at best.
Did Congress address the hemp THC loophole in the 2026 Farm Bill?
Lawmakers are several years overdue in updating the Farm Bill, which is generally revised every five years.
It was the 2018 Farm Bill, signed into law by President Donald Trump during his first term, that legalized hemp cultivation and production nationwide under the supervision of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But a so-called “loophole” created by vague language and uneven enforcement led to a proliferation of intoxicating hemp-derived products sold nationwide, online and in stores.
Furor over the loophole culminated in a redefinition of hemp to exclude so-called “THCA flower” and other intoxicating products that Trump signed into law in November as part of a spending package that ended a record-long government shutdown.
That ban is set to take effect this November and would limit final hemp products to no more than 0.4 milligrams of THC per package – a limit so low that it’s a de facto ban, advocates say.
A push to include a pause on the hemp-derived THC ban in the temporary spending bill signed into law in January failed.
What’s next for the hemp THC industry?
Hemp THC’s exclusion from the Farm Bill was expected. Republican U.S. Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson of Pennsylvania, the committee chairman, has long said that regulating hemp THC products is outside of his committee’s purview.
THC industry skeptics celebrated the development.
“For years, bad actors exploited an unintended federal loophole to put high-potency THC products into gas stations, convenience stores and online marketplaces – often with little or no safeguards to keep them out of the hands of minors,” Diane Carlson, national policy director at One Chance to Grow Up, a youth-focused advocacy group, said in a statement.
“By keeping the November 2026 implementation date in place, Congress is reaffirming its unwavering commitment to protecting the health, safety and futures of our nation’s kids.”
The Farm Bill advances to the full House for another vote.
The Senate must pass its own version, and Congress must correct any inconsistencies between the two versions before it goes to Trump’s desk to be signed into law.
Separate bill would regulate hemp THC products at federal level
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would set cannabinoid limits for hemp-derived products under the Hemp Enforcement, Modernization and Protection (HEMP) Act, sponsored by Republican U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith of West Virginia and Texas Democratic U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey.
Under the Griffith-Veasey proposal, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would be responsible for setting “total cannabinoid content” for “cannabinoid hemp products” that could be inhaled, ingested orally or used topically within 60 days of the bill’s passage.
Subscribe to the MJBiz Factbook
Exclusive industry data and analysis to help you make informed business decisions and avoid costly missteps. All the facts, none of the hype.
What you will get:
- Monthly and quarterly updates, with new data & insights
- Financial forecasts + capital investment trends
- State-by-state guide to regulations, taxes & market opportunities
- Annual survey of cannabis businesses
- Consumer insights
- And more!
But if Kennedy or his successor as health secretary does not act within three years, the bill sets automatic limits of:
- 10 mg of cannabinoids per serving and 50 mg per package for edibles
- 100 mg per serving and 500 mg per package for inhalable products
- 100 mg per serving and 500 mg per package for topical products
Griffith chairs the House Subcommittee on Health, but the bill isn’t yet scheduled for a hearing, according to Congress.gov.
