Federal budget proposal would ban hemp-derived THC, THCA flower

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U.S. hemp interests are sounding the alarm over a House Republican budget proposal that, if passed by Congress, would ban hemp-derived THC products outright at the federal level, including so-called THCA flower.

The proposal – the Fiscal Year 2026 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Bill” – has language that would “clos(e) the hemp loophole’” created by the 2018 Farm Bill, said U.S. Rep. Andy Harris, a Maryland Republican and the chair of a key subcommittee.

The $25.523 billion spending bill introduced Wednesday includes funding for rural broadband, food stamps and federal food inspectors.

But the measure also drastically revises the definition of hemp used in the 2018 Farm Bill that has led to “the proliferation of unregulated intoxicating hemp products, including (d)elta-8 and hemp flower, being sold online and in gas stations across the country,” Harris said in a statement.

How the bill redefines hemp

Under Harris’ proposal:

Hemp is redefined as cannabis with a “total tetrahydrocannabinol concentration (including tetrahydrocannabinolic acid) of not more than 0.3 percent in the plant on a dry weight basis.”
Novel cannabinoids such as delta-8 and delta-10 THC “synthesized or manufactured outside the plant” are not considered hemp

The bill also creates a new definition for “hemp-derived cannabinoid product(s).”

Those are defined as products with “quantifiable amounts” of THC, THCA or “any other cannabinoids that have similar effects (or are marketed to have similar effects) on humans or animals as tetrahydrocannabinol.”

That would seem to include so-called “novel cannabinoids” found in hemp products sold online, such as THCP and delta-10 THC.

‘Farmer-crushing, job-killing hemp ban’

But since no legal protections are included, the upshot is to “effectively ban the sale of legal hemp-derived products,” Jonathan Miller, general counsel of the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, said in a statement.

“We are disappointed that Chairman Harris is yet again trying to inappropriately shoehorn a farmer-crushing, job-killing hemp ban into a spending bill,” Miller added.

The Hemp Roundtable pointed out that the language in Harris’ bill is similar to an amendment to a new Farm Bill proposed a year ago by U.S. Rep. Mary Miller, an Indiana Republican.

That amendment failed when efforts to pass a new Farm Bill stalled.

Harris’ move to ban intoxicating hemp-derived THC products follows action at the state level to tighten hemp laws to restrict or outlaw competitors to legal cannabis.

Hemp has attracted many operators eager to take advantage of more lax rules and apparent opportunities for interstate commerce not afforded to state-regulated marijuana businesses.

Some major marijuana multistate operators, such as New York-based Curaleaf Holdings, have started offering hemp-derived THC beverages online and in stores.