National Hemp Ban Takes Effect in a Year
- Jen Reise
- 5 days ago
- 4 min read
Hemp THC products made illegal under provision in bill to reopen government
November 13, 2025
TL;DR: The hemp-derived THC industry has grown exponentially since 2018 because it is federally legal. The bill to reopen the government snuck in language to make it illegal, effective in a year. Can the industry unite and change the law in the next year?
Last night, Wed. Nov. 12, 2025, Congress passed, and Pres. Trump signed, a federal bill to finally reopen the government after the longest shutdown in history. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) inserted language into that bill that will make the entire hemp THC industry federally illegal in one year, and it stayed in the final bill in spite of last-ditch efforts by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY).
At least in my circles, this effectively changed the national conversation away from ballooning health care costs and SNAP (issues that made the Republicans look very bad). (Also: the Epstein files.) Thanks for throwing the hemp THC industry under the bus in the process of finally reopening the government, Republicans.
What does this bill do?
Effective in a year, the federal definition of legal “hemp” narrows to include only industrial hemp. Excluded from “hemp” at that point are:
Seeds from a non-hemp plant
Intermediate (i.e., not finished-product) hemp-derived cannabinoid products containing (I) synthetic cannabinoids, (II) naturally-occurring cannabinoids that were synthesized outside the plant, or (III) more than 0.3% THC or similar cannabinoids to THC
Hemp-derived cannabinoid products containing (I) synthetic cannabinoids, (II) naturally-occurring cannabinoids that were synthesized outside the plant, or (III) more than 0.4 milligrams combined THC per container
That language effectively ends the federally-legal status of the hemp-derived THC industry that had grown out of the 2018 Farm Bill’s legalization of hemp.
But wait, who wants that?
Lots of powerful interests. Big Alcohol has been lobbying Congress to “close the intoxicating hemp loophole”, as they increasingly lose sales to the burgeoning hemp THC drink industry.
Many in the cannabis industry are also celebrating today; the hemp industry has grown in part because it is not subject to the same crushing compliance requirements, 280E taxation, and state-by-state markets, and they hope that by banning hemp THC, customers will come to adult-use dispensaries instead.
Big Pharma also benefits. One other place where hemp THC will still be allowed under this bill is drugs approved by the FDA, such as Epidiolex, an FDA-approved treatment for epilepsy derived from cannabis.
In arguing for criminalizing the hemp THC industry, they have pointed to the proliferation of sketchy products across the country and raised concerns about safety especially for children.
What happens now?
Nothing, at first. None of these changes are effective for a year.
In a functional government, that would give the hemp THC industry time to lobby Congress to change the language before it goes into effect. We could have a national conversation about these products, agree on a cohesive federal framework for regulating them, and implement it. Clem Dabney thoughtfully argues for the nation to follow Minnesota’s approach in today’s Star Tribune. However, we are far from having a functional national government at the moment. Congress has been fighting over re-authorization of the 2018 Farm Bill, which should have been in 2023; we just had a long and painful government shutdown and now face another in January; etc.
If this bill becomes effective without further changes, then the hemp THC industry in Minnesota will be basically in the same grey area - state-legal but federally-illegal - as Minnesota’s adult-use industry. Minnesota’s low-potency hemp edible products (LPHE) could be sold in dispensaries in Minnesota, but cannot cross state lines and will face the same hurdles with banking and taxes.
In the meantime, hemp THC producers can keep operating and keep fighting for a better outcome than that. We’ll need real leadership to move the needle in the next year.
Couple of other compelling thoughts I’ve seen floating around:
The increasing normality of nationally-legal hemp was becoming a back-door legalization of cannabis. It brought new consumers into cannabis; Americans learned that they could substitute cannabis products for opiates, alcohol, and sleeping pills.
Sen. Rand Paul’s amendment Monday night was the first time the U.S. Senate has ever voted on cannabis. And now THC is part of a national conversation going into an election year. Perhaps this is an opportunity to move ahead.
What I’m reading:
Final bill language is available at https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/news/majority/bill-text-agriculture-rural-development-food-and-drug-administration-and-related-agencies-act-2026
Cultivated Daily https://www.cultivated.news/p/hemp-companies-call-out-overly-broad-prohibition and https://www.cultivated.news/
Minnesota’s hemp-derived THC companies prepare to fight ban on Capitol Hill (Nov. 13, 2025) https://www.startribune.com/minnesotas-hemp-derived-thc-companies-prepare-to-fight-ban-on-capitol-hill/601523793?utm_source=gift (gift link)
Dabney: Instead of crushing the THC market, Congress should follow Minnesota’s model in regulating hemp (Opinion, Star Tribune, Nov. 13, 2025) https://www.startribune.com/govt-shutdown-bill-thc-ban-delta-9/601523981?utm_source=gift (gift link)
Buh Bye Hemp THC: Now, What Happens to Cannabis? Mitchell Osak (Nov. 13, 2025) https://mitchellosak.substack.com/
Welcome to the Thunderdome: Why it's full steam ahead for THC beverages. Delta Dispatch by Ian Dominguez (Nov. 13, 2025) https://deltaemerald.substack.com/
Rachelle Olson, Editor of Green State, on Instagram @rachellethewriter