In the law to end the government shutdown, Congress strengthened restrictions on hemp, aiming to close a legal loophole that allows the sale of unregulated products containing hemp-derived psychoactive compounds (e.g., delta-8).

Reminder: Hemp was legalized in the Farm Bill in 2018. While it was intended to legalize industrial and non-intoxicating hemp products (e.g., CBD), companies exploited a loophole in the law to create synthesized products with enough THC to cause a high.

Hemp must contain 0.3% or less by dry weight of THC to be legally classified as hemp, rather than marijuana.
But: Producers can buy legal hemp and extract the THC to create higher concentrations that can then be added to food, beverages, or other products, synthetically making products with THC levels similar to those sold in legal marijuana stores.
For more on these products and the loophole, watch our video or read our Washington Post op-ed.

The details:

The new law would keep the hemp definition with the 0.3% THC limit.
It would ban cannabinoids produced from hemp that are not naturally in the plant or that are synthetically derived from it.
It would also outlaw hemp-derived products containing more than 0.4 milligrams of THC (or other cannabinoids that have/are marketed to have similar effects).

What’s coming: The new restrictions take effect a year from now.

Why it’s important: Intoxicating hemp-derived products are often unregulated and are often designed to appeal to kids (e.g., in appealing flavors and packaging) and sold in accessible places (e.g., convenience stores, gas stations, online). Closing the loophole will make the sale of such products illegal and help prevent youth exposure and access to these intoxicating products.