Could Congress stamp out the national intoxicating hemp product market through a routine spending bill? With Congress balking at direct regulation of the nearly $30 billion national hemp cannabinoid product market, certain Republican legislators are exploring more restrictive language in the definition of Hemp from the 2018 Farm Bill as the market explodes nationwide.
The Republican-led House Appropriations Committee introduced the Fiscal Year 2026 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Bill, which proposes to redefine “hemp” under federal law in a manner that would restrict the types and variety of consumable hemp products that would be legal under federal law by adopting a total THC standard of .3 by dry weight volume and attempting to prohibit cannabinoids from a synthetic or manufactured conversion process. The bill’s proposal to redefine hemp is familiar to those who have followed prior congressional efforts to curtail the intoxicating hemp cannabinoid market, including through the 2025 House draft of the next 5-year Farm Bill that failed to pass last session. Indeed, the subject provisions are similar to the so-called “Miller Amendment” to the 2025 House Farm Bill draft, which was championed by Illinois Republican Representative Mary Miller.
In what would be a profound change to the existing federal definition of hemp codified in the 2018 Farm Bill, which defines hemp by reference only to its concentration of Delta-9 THC, the bill: 1) would redefine hemp by reference to the concentration of “total THC” (including THCA); 2) exclude all forms of consumable hemp products with quantifiable amounts of THC and other similar intoxicating cannabinoids; and 3) exclude all forms of “synthetic” hemp-derived cannabinoids.
Below is a comparison showing the proposed changes to the current federal definition of hemp:
(1) HEMP.—‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘hemp’ means the plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part of that plant, including the seeds thereof and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers, whether growing or not, with a delta-9 total tetrahydrocannabinol concentration (including tetrahydrocannabinolic acid) of not more than 0.3 percent in the plant on a dry weight basis.
(B) INCLUSION.—Such term includes industrial hemp.
(C) EXCLUSIONS.—Such term does not include— (i) any viable seeds from a Cannabis sativa L. plant that exceeds a total tetrahydrocannabinol concentration (including tetrahydrocannabinolic acid) of 0.3 percent in the plant on a dry weight basis; or (ii) any hemp-derived cannabinoid products containing—
(I) cannabinoids that are not capable of being naturally produced by a Cannabis sativa L. plant;
(II) cannabinoids that—(aa) are capable of being naturally produced by a Cannabis sativa L. plant; and (bb) were synthesized or manufactured outside the plant;
(III) quantifiable amounts based on substance, form, manufacture, or article (as determined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture) of—(aa) tetrahydrocannabinol (including tetrahydrocannabinolic acid); or (bb) any other cannabinoids that have similar effects (or are marketed to have similar effects) on humans or animals as tetrahydrocannabinol (as determined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture).
The bill would also separately define “hemp-derived cannabinoid product” as follows:
HEMP-DERIVED CANNABINOID PRODUCT.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘hemp-derived cannabinoid product’ means any intermediate or final product derived from hemp (other than industrial hemp), that— (i) contains cannabinoids in any form; and (ii) is intended for human or animal use through any means of application or administration, such as inhalation, ingestion, or topical application.
(B) EXCLUSION.—Such term does not include a drug that is the subject of an application approved under subsection (c) or (j) of section 505 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 355).
Far from being a collateral point, the fact sheet for the bill issued by House Appropriations Committee Chair Tom Cole (R-OK) confirmed that this appropriations bill intends to “[c]los[e] the hemp loophole that has resulted in the proliferation of unregulated intoxicating hemp products, including Delta-8 and hemp flower, being sold online and in gas stations across the country.”
