The US hemp industry is bracing for a sweeping ban on most hemp‑derived products after Senator Mitch McConnell slipped the restriction into a must‑pass spending bill just before the Senate cleared the measure and ended the government shutdown. The rule, effective 12 months after the law takes effect, prohibits any product containing more than 0.4 mg of THC per package – a threshold that catches the vast majority of CBD items on the market.
Last‑Minute Hemp Ban Triggers Industry Firestorm
Industry leaders blasted the last‑minute addition, saying the provision should have undergone open hearings before being attached to a bill essential for reopening the government.
According to Jonathan Miller, general counsel for the US Hemp Roundtable, the sector generates $28 billion annually and supports roughly 300,000 jobs.
Jasmine Johnson, CEO of Florida‑based GŪD Essence, said she is mapping multiple contingency plans to keep customers from experiencing disruption.
If states retain control, hemp could remain available outside licensed cannabis dispensaries, mirroring the current regulatory split between state‑legal cannabis – which faces no THC cap and operates only in dispensaries – and hemp, which is sold in liquor stores, grocery aisles and online.
Presently, the only federal limit requires hemp to be derived from plants with less than 0.3 % delta‑9 THC, though other THC forms can be added through chemical processing.
A state‑led model would let hemp products be stocked in grocery stores and liquor outlets under age‑gate rules, a prospect Aaron Nosbisch, founder of Brēz, says would make the business model far more viable than the existing marijuana industry.
Nevertheless, the ban would bar interstate shipping of hemp products, limiting national distribution.
Josh Kesselman, founder of RAW Rolling Papers and owner of High Times magazine, warned the ban signals a total crackdown and the first step toward dismantling state‑legal cannabis markets, aligning with Heritage Foundation arguments that cannabis should remain federally illegal.
Manufacturers may be forced to shut down or pivot, as Brēz’s THC beverage line already accounts for over 30 % of its revenue, using ingredients such as lion’s mane mushroom extract and L‑theanine.
Many industry insiders, including Nosbisch, remain hopeful Congress will pass new federal legislation to regulate hemp rather than enforce the ban.
“This is an opportunity in disguise that the category has been waiting for to build a stronger foundation for rapid growth,” Nosbisch said.
Miller noted a surge in backlash, with consumers contacting their representatives; newly vocal lawmakers such as Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost of Florida and Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota have publicly opposed the ban.
