Hemp access isn’t done yet: What you need to know about the federal government’s impending ban

The bill that ended the shutdown may have ended federally legal hemp, as well.

On the night of November 12th, President Trump signed a funding package that ended the longest government shutdown in history and may have destroyed the hemp industry.

This bill contained a rider championed by Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell that decisively closes the “hemp loophole” in the 2018 Farm Bill that led to the creation of the recreational hemp industry and the widespread availability of delta-8, delta-9, and THCA products.

If the new bill takes effect in November 2026 in its current form, it would recriminalize the possession and production of intoxicating products derived from hemp, superseding the 2018 Farm Bill and throwing the hemp industry into chaos.

Is it time to panic?

Not yet. While things certainly look scary right now, a lot can happen in a year. The hemp industry is currently big enough that they have the means to employ a small army of lawyers and lobbyists to fight for a saner approach over the coming months, and the fight over the bill’s exact definitions is just gearing up.

If the worst-case scenario unfolds and this ban is exactly as draconian as it seems at first blush, then we’ll know sooner to November 2026 when the ban is scheduled to take effect.

There’s no need to panic-buy a supersized stash that will last you a good while just yet, and if that’s what you’re going to need to do, then we here at Leafly will let you know.

In the meantime, you can still buy hemp products as usual. Though emotions are high as we watch the timer tick down towards prohibition, we recommend trying to relax and enjoy hemp the same way you do now.

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What does this mean for consumers?

If you live in a state where recreational cannabis has been legalized, things won’t change too much for you, luckily. Your local dispensary won’t be affected, and you’ll still be able to consume cannabis in the same amounts, potencies, and varieties you could before the ban. While this development certainly portends ill for any advancement on federal legalization, consumers in legal states will largely emerge unscathed.

That doesn’t mean that cannabis producers won’t have to find a way to orient themselves. Many brands in the traditional cannabis sphere have recently created hemp-based operations to compete in the national market and to avoid crippling restrictions that deeply impact the field’s profitability.

If this ban goes into effect, all of those efforts will have been a waste. Though many brands will be able to weather the hit, some brands may be in trouble, especially given the tight economic climate that existed before this ban.

If you live in a state where recreational cannabis is illegal, you will no longer be able to purchase vapes, gummies, flower, or any other hemp product that contains anything that will give you the slightest buzz, either online or in person. That includes states like Kentucky or Minnesota, which have independently instituted regulations around hemp. This federal law supersedes any existing frameworks, and when it goes into effect next year, your legal hemp will magically transform into regular old illegal weed, the same type that’ll get you arrested for possessing.

In short, if nothing changes, it’ll be back to the dark ages for the 26 US states that have not yet legalized recreational cannabis, with all the ugliness that implies. The black market will surge, more people will be forced into for-profit prisons, and lives will be ruined. That sure doesn’t look like justice to us.

What can you do about it?

This funding bill was just one round of the fight towards a more reasonable regulatory environment for hemp and cannabis, and while the hemp industry has certainly taken a haymaker, they aren’t done yet. There are a few things that you can do to help make your voice heard and shift the conversation towards the need for regulation, not prohibition:

If we want to be able to ensure the ability of millions of Americans to access hemp THC, then we all have a part to play. Make sure to do what you can over the coming year, and keep checking Leafly (or better yet, subscribe to our newsletter) for any updates on the ongoing situation.

What the industry is saying

“The hemp provisions that were advanced were driven by the inaccurate belief that this ban would safeguard non-intoxicating CBD products while targeting synthetic or high-THC items marketed to minors. That narrative is simply incorrect. As written, the language would eliminate the vast majority of legitimate hemp products currently on the market. […] We knew regulatory shifts were possible, but the intensity and speed of this proposal were definitely unexpected.”

“What concerns me most…are the millions of Americans who depend on this plant to live fuller, healthier lives. Losing safe access would be a devastating setback to their physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. […] My heart breaks for the family farmers we partner with across Northern California and Oregon—people who have spent decades building soil, community, and craft. They deserve stability and a future in this industry, not to be pushed aside by rushed legislation.”

“This fight is far from over, and many members of Congress genuinely support the hemp industry. The appropriations process put lawmakers in a difficult position, forcing them to choose between keeping the government open or protecting hemp… an impossible trade-off. Over the next year, we’ll be working hard to advance real, thoughtful regulation that removes bad actors from the marketplace while allowing responsible businesses to continue serving consumers safely.”

What exactly is in the bill?

The package that contains this ban passed through both houses of Congress very quickly and with little debate, resulting in a legislative sucker punch that left the industry without an opportunity to properly advocate for itself or for Americans who consume hemp products to let their voices be heard.

When the new law takes effect on November 12th, 2026, any consumer product that contains any synthetic cannabinoid produced or manufactured outside the plant will be strictly illegal, a Schedule 1 narcotic like heroin or LSD. That’s not all; in one year, any product that contains more than 0.4mg of tetrahydrocannabinols (that’s D-8, D-9, THCA, HHC, THCP, and the like) or a compound with “similar effects” per container (not serving) will also be illegal to produce, sell, or purchase.

These two restrictions amount to a complete ban on intoxicating hemp, wiping out most of an industry that seemed to be cresting towards mainstream acceptance. It imperils tens of thousands of jobs and removes billions of dollars from the economy, rolls back existing regulatory frameworks that have already been enacted on the state level, and makes full federal legalization of hemp and cannabis products less likely, but more needed, than ever.

Why did this happen?

The hemp industry has always been in a legally complicated position. While the text of the 2018 Farm Bill did, in no uncertain terms, legalize the production of hemp products, the industry has always been something of a byproduct of the bill’s language, not the expressed intent. This ongoing misalignment between industry, the government, and the text of the law led to a situation with a lot of confusion and few clear answers.

Unfortunately, this lack of regulation led to bad actors in the industry doing whatever they could to make a buck by exploiting the loophole by mislabelling their products, falsifying lab test results, or using underhanded marketing tactics.

Those who lobbied against the hemp industry have always been able to point to these malign businesses as examples of the danger that unregulated hemp products pose, and, fair play, they have a point. A lack of regulation is a dangerous state to be in, and it may have just been a matter of time before disaster struck.

Reputable voices in the industry have always understood this fact and have been consistent in calling for federal regulation to codify the industry while preserving the economic potential of hemp, ensuring the safety of both consumers, producers, and workers. This has, more or less, aligned them with traditional cannabis producers, who resented the ability of hemp companies to operate without the heavy restrictions that legal states often place on cannabis brands.

However, it did seem like the future was bright for the hemp industry. This year had seen beverages infused with hemp-derived THC find their way into national retailers, directly competing with big-name alcohol brands. The industry has also seen significant growth over the years, especially compared to its traditional cannabis counterparts.

A similar high-profile bill that sought to outlaw hemp products was nearly enacted by the Texas state government, but the state’s hemp producers were saved when Governor Greg Abbot vetoed the bill. With that victory under their belt, it seemed as though the hemp industry could have the momentum to fully enter the mainstream, but those hopes have seemingly been dashed.

Where a scalpel was needed, the government used a stick of dynamite, punishing good actors and bad actors alike. The new bill does not distinguish between the brands that have approached the conversation in good faith and those that have attempted to skirt regulatory concerns.

Who’s to blame?

It is no surprise that one of the leading voices for the recriminalization of hemp is Mitch McConnell, one of the lead architects of the original 2018 Farm Bill that unintentionally legalized intoxicating hemp products in the first place. McConnell, 83, is nearing the end of his time in American politics and the public eye, and the growth of the industrial hemp industry has largely been a black mark on his otherwise spotless record of using the power of the US Senate to make things worse. McConnell is also perceived as one of the alcohol lobby’s biggest friends in Washington, which may have also impacted the Senator’s dogged pursuit of this ban.

So, to clean up after the mess that McConnell and the federal government have made for themselves, they opted to hide a poison pill in a must-pass bill, a move with all the considered nuance and subtlety of a child holding a broken vase behind their back.

An outright ban does virtually nothing to solve the stated problem of the hemp industry, and in fact, will make the lack of regulation and risk to consumers worse by forcing the field back underground. We’ve done this dance before, and we all know how these prohibitions go. It remains to be seen how many times the feds will have to learn the lesson and how many people they’ll hurt along the way.

Until saner heads prevail, we here at Leafly will keep a close eye on the situation. Here’s hoping that the coming year brings a change in course from the federal government, but if not, we’ll be here to help you navigate this ever-changing industry.