Overview
- The shutdown-ending spending bill signed on Nov. 12 includes Section 781, which rewrites the federal definition of hemp and takes effect after a one-year phase-in ending in November 2026.
- The law bans most intoxicating hemp products by excluding synthesized or outside-plant cannabinoids, setting a 0.3% combined-total THC limit, and imposing a 0.4 milligram-per-container cap that also sweeps in many spectrum CBD items.
- Industry groups and analysts estimate the change will wipe out roughly 95% of a $28 billion market and jeopardize more than 300,000 jobs, with warnings of lost tax revenue and a shift to illicit sales.
- The beverage segment is a prime target, as many low-dose THC drinks contain at least 1 milligram per can, and retailers from liquor stores to supermarkets have been selling them in states that allowed the category.
- The provision, championed by Sen. Mitch McConnell, survived an unsuccessful effort by Sen. Rand Paul to strip it, and businesses are scrambling to lobby for a federal regulatory alternative during the one-year wind-down.