Hemp products containing cannabinoids that the cannabis plant can’t naturally produce, such as synthetic compounds, are no longer federally legal to produce or sell as of Thursday.
Congress redefined hemp in 2025 to close what lawmakers and ban supporters call the hemp loophole.
The loophole originated in the 2018 Farm Bill, which critics say opened the door to intoxicating cannabis products across the U.S.
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Nearly eight years after that bill was signed, the 2025 law is taking effect in two phases, the first of which began Thursday.
The rest of the hemp restrictions are set to take effect Dec. 11 after Congress delayed them in a stopgap funding bill that President Trump signed Sept. 2.
Hemp must then contain no more than 0.3% total THC, including THCA, rather than 0.3% delta-9 THC. Finished products also would be capped at 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container.
The Dec. 11 date matches the next government funding deadline, and industry groups are lobbying for a regulated framework instead.
Bills to regulate hemp or revisit the ban, such as the Lawful Hemp Protection Act, have limited time before the 119th Congress ends.
The federal restrictions were enacted as part of the agriculture appropriations law in the spending package that ended the government shutdown in the fall of 2025.
The law amended the statutory definition of hemp, which had been excluded from the Controlled Substances Act, and allowed hemp cultivation and sale by any authorized grower.
The U.S. Hemp Roundtable, a pro-hemp nonprofit, said that unless Congress acts before Dec. 11, “most of the CBD products and low-dose hemp drinks you buy today will become controlled substances and banned by federal law.”
Its general counsel, Jonathan Miller, has said the per-container cap would effectively ban 95% of hemp products on the market.
The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws said the delay gives Congress more time to consider pending legislation that “seeks to regulate naturally occurring hemp-derived cannabinoid products rather than outlaw them.”
The National Cannabis Industry Association, the largest such trade group in the U.S., said that rather than “reinstating failed prohibitionist policies,” Congress should establish “clear, science-based regulations that ensure these products are manufactured and sold safely, transparently, and are restricted to adults over 21.
“An outright ban on hemp-derived THC would undermine legitimate businesses and create a major windfall for the illicit market by pushing these widely used products into unregulated criminal channels,” the association said.
The appropriations law will “ensure these products are made and sold without oversight, delivering a big win to the drug cartels at the expense of public health and safety,” the organization’s CEO and co-founder, Aaron Smith, said.
Kevin Sabet, CEO of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, which opposes legalization, said in a press release that his group intends for the federal ban to take “full effect” on Dec. 11.
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