A federal ban on most hemp-derived THC products is set to take effect on December 11 after a yearlong fight over whether the substance should be banned or simply regulated.
The battle began when Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) slipped a near-total ban on THC products into a spending bill in December of last year.
If the law takes effect, it will mandate that none of these products can have more than 0.4 milligrams of THC in each container. The U.S. Hemp Roundtable and other groups say it will wipe out about 95 percent of hemp THC products and eliminate a disturbing number of jobs and businesses nationwide.
The national market is worth about $38 billion. In North Carolina, it supports over 16,000 jobs. Chris Karazin, co-founder of Carolindica, told Cardinal Pine, “Regulation is what we need. Prohibition is just hilarious regression.”
He added: “Most companies are retail, distribution and e-commerce. Those types of companies have no way of adapting at all.”+
Congress can still act before the deadline arrives. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and other lawmakers have pushed for an extension that would allow them to work out a comprehensive policy regarding hemp-derived THC rather than outright banning it.
Congress - regulate hemp, don't ban it! The US Hemp Roundtable's new digital advocacy campaign is carrying that message across the DC beltway beginning this week.
— US Hemp Roundtable (@HempRoundtable) November 6, 2026
View the video below and learn more at: hempsupporter.com/savehemp/ pic.twitter.com/AKBz7nV03t
President Donald Trump called for better regulation instead of a ban in an April post on Truth Social. “I am calling on Congress to update the Law to ensure that Americans can continue to access the full-spectrum CBD products they have come to rely on, and that help them, while preserving Congress's intent to restrict the sale of products that pose Health risks.”
Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA) is pushing for legislation that would set rules for THC products instead of a ban, placed in a lame-duck reconciliation bill. A reconciliation bill is a budget bill that can pass the Senate with 51 votes instead of 60.
Griffith said, “I think we need to get my THC regulatory bill passed, and if we could get that into a reconciliation bill before the 11th of December, that'd be fabulous.”
McConnell and Sen. Andy Harris (R-MD) lead the push for banning hemp THC products in the Senate. But other Republican lawmakers have signed on to the ban.
Politico reported that emails obtained through public records requests revealed that lobbyists for major alcohol companies like Anheuser-Busch, Molson Coors, and Diageo urged state attorneys general to sign an August letter advocating against delaying the implementation of the law.
POLITICO reports that lobbyists for major alcohol companies urged state AGs to back hemp restrictions. With a Dec. 11 deadline approaching, make your voice heard.
— US Hemp Roundtable (@HempRoundtable) November 4, 2026
Tell your AG: Support hemp, not a ban. hempsupporter.com
Todd Kranda, a lobbyist for Anheuser-Busch, wrote a letter to North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley in June slamming his colleagues who sought to pass an extension. “There are a couple fringe U.S. Senators who would like to extend the loophole by another year in the CR being debated this weekend on Capitol Hill,” he wrote.
Eight days before the shutdown deal was signed, a coalition of alcohol trade groups wrote to Congress, asking it to “immediately remove hemp-derived THC products from the marketplace until a robust federal regulatory framework is established.”
Political action committees tied to alcohol companies have given a significant sum of money to McConnell and Harris over the years, as they have with other lawmakers who favor prohibition.
The hemp industry has spent hundreds of thousands to stop the ban from taking effect. The American Healthy Alternatives Association spent $280,000 on lobbying in the third quarter of 2026. The U.S. Hemp Roundtable spent $160,000 that quarter, and $850,000 in total, according to Cannabis Wire's review of the filings.
Sen. Paul (R-KY) told the Louisville Courier Journal: “I have always opposed the hemp ban and fought against it, knowing that it would devastate Kentucky's hemp farmers and the small businesses built around them.”
