The Senate Appropriations Committee has approved the FY2026 Agriculture-FDA spending bill, which includes a provision banning intoxicating hemp products, but implementation would be delayed for one year.

The committee approved the FY26 Agriculture-FDA spending bill on Thursday by a 27–0 vote.
The 2018 Farm Bill, passed during President Donald Trump’s first term, legalized hemp containing up to 0.3% THC nationwide for industrial purposes.
However, it also indirectly allowed the production of hemp-based products, such as delta-8 THC, with intoxicating effects similar to recreational cannabis, which remains illegal at the federal level.
This gray market has grown into a multi-billion-dollar industry, with these products sold in stores, gas stations, and online across the country.
The committee is now closing this loophole by proposing a bill that would prohibit all products containing any quantifiable amount of THC.
The move is likely to have significant implications for the hemp industry. If enacted, the provision would ban nearly all hemp-derived hemp products that contain any measurable THC. The bill says the amount of THC and other intoxicating cannabis compounds will be determined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, working with the Secretary of Agriculture.

Jonathan Miller, general counsel of the hemp advocacy group U.S. Hemp Roundtable, said in a press statement that “the best way to do that is through robust regulation, not prohibition,” adding that “regulation will protect hemp farmers and the $28 billion economic engine that is the hemp industry while also offering the protections that the Senate is seeking. A blanket ban on more than 90% of hemp consumable products is not the right path.”