Next Stop, Senate: New Hemp THC Limits Become a Federal Roadblock for the 2026 Farm Bill

By Jelena Martinovic, Featured Writer

The 2026 Farm Bill is heading to the U.S. Senate after the House members voted, 224-200, on April 30 to pass it.

What Happened

This five-year agricultural plan addresses rural economies and food supply chains with a focus on risk management, research, and broadband expansion.

Making headlines nearly eight years after the 2018 Farm Bill legalized industrial hemp, this new piece of federal agricultural policy defines hemp differently, limiting it to no more than 0.3% total THC (including THCA), replacing the earlier delta-9 THC standard from the 2018 Farm Bill.

Why It Matters

This stricter definition could result in a sharp restriction or elimination of many intoxicating hemp products that boomed following the 2018 policy change.

However, the new bill also means easier farming rules, including reduced testing and paperwork requirements, simpler compliance methods, the removal of some restrictions for farmers with old drug-related felonies, and the ability for farmers to label production type.

With the majority of existing intoxicating hemp-derived products becoming federally prohibited on November 12, 2026, stakeholders, operators, and policymakers had hoped and pushed for Congress to use the 2026 Farm Bill as an opportunity to postpone the planned ban or to revise the new hemp definition entirely.

As this was not the case, cannabis industry groups are continuing their efforts, urging Congress to delay or reshape the ban, reported Cannabis Business Times.

Rep. James Comer pushed for a delay in a planned hemp product ban by one year, arguing more time is needed as the new rules are unclear and could harm jobs and rural economies, as hemp supports roughly 320,000 jobs, generates $28.4 billion in economic activity, and $1.5 billion in state tax revenue. However, Comer withdrew his amendment to the 2026 Farm Bill subsequently.

Rep. Andy Barr’s amendment to the same bill, which was also withdrawn, sought to create a system to legalize and regulate intoxicating hemp products, pushing for a clearer legal definition of hemp, a THC limit (1% delta-9 THC, measured in finished products), and a regulated, taxed market instead of a ban.

What’s Next

As the September 30 deadline approaches, the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 is now up for further debate and revisions in the Senate before being passed into law.