Overview
- President Donald Trump signed the shutdown-ending spending bill that includes the new hemp definition, with enforcement scheduled to begin in November 2026.
- The law prohibits products exceeding 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container and bars certain synthesized cannabinoids, with the FDA given 90 days to list covered compounds and define “container.”
- Industry groups say the change would remove more than 95% of current products from the market and jeopardize a reported $28 billion sector and roughly 300,000 jobs, and they are organizing lobbying and legal strategies.
- A Senate attempt by Rand Paul to strip the language failed, while Mitch McConnell led the push to close the 2018 Farm Bill loophole, a move also urged by a bipartisan group of 39 state attorneys general.
- Legal analysts note that interstate sales would be sharply restricted, but some products wholly grown, processed and sold within a single state could continue under state law until federal rules take effect.