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President Donald Trump called on Congress Thursday to take action to repeal and reform the impending hemp ban that would wipe out nearly all hemp-derived CBD products on the market.
“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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
As part of the funding legislation to end the November 2025 government shutdown, Congress inserted a provision in the agriculture minibus to limit the total hemp-derived THC per container to 0.4 milligrams, effective Nov. 12, 2026.
The hemp industry has raised alarm bells that the new cap, sold as a way to root out intoxicating levels of hemp and bad actors in the market, wipes out nearly 95% of current products on the market that include about three milligrams in a typical serving.
“We must get this done RIGHT and FAST, especially for those who saw that CBD helps them,” Trump wrote. “Plus, I am told it will also help our GREAT FARMERS, who we love, and will always be there for.”
Hemp farmers have been waving their arms since last year, worried that if they plant in the 2026 planting season, they may end up having to toss all of their harvest if the ban goes into effect.
“We are 100% taking a gamble moving forward,” Kentucky farmer Jay Grundy told the Washington Examiner. “All the money that I’m spending currently, I could very likely lose here in a couple of months. And that scares me to death. We’re not quite ready to give up yet because there’s still time.”
Lawmakers, such as Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), have introduced about half a dozen bills in the House and Senate aimed at regulating bad actors in the market, while giving the industry much more breathing room than the 0.4 milligram cap. They range from delaying the ban’s implementation to a thorough reform of hemp’s regulatory framework.
Though many of these bills remain in committee, the hemp industry has eyed two recent moves by the Trump administration as hopeful signs that Congress could follow suit and reform the ban.
First, the Department of Justice signed an order reclassifying state-licensed medical marijuana from a Schedule I to a less-regulated Schedule III drug, following Trump’s order to do so in December. Second, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services initiated a pilot program in which beneficiaries can access hemp-derived CBD and THC products for symptom control. Trump praised the program in his Thursday Truth Social Post.
“In December, I signed a very important Executive Order calling for Research and Innovation for Hemp-derived CBD — Something that has made a HUGE difference for so many people,” Trump wrote. “In fact, ONE in FIVE adults used it in the past year, and many say it improved their chronic pain enormously. Our wonderful Dr. Mehmet Oz moved fast to follow the directive in the Executive Order, and launched a model for some Seniors earlier this month.”
But drug safety advocates have vowed to challenge both the DOJ and CMS’s actions in court, with the group Smart Approaches to Marijuana already challenging the pilot program.
SAM’s Kevin Sabet slammed the Trump administration as “the most pro-drug administration in our history,” after the marijuana rescheduling
“Policy is now being dictated by marijuana CEOs, psychedelics investors, and podcasters in active addiction — it is a travesty and injustice to the American people of unprecedented proportions,” Sabet said in a statement. “The marijuana industry is the new Big Tobacco, and President Trump is welcoming them to the homes of families across this country with open arms.”
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