If you're one of the ever-growing number of Americans who use hemp-derived tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) products to chillax or help you sleep, it looks like your days of bliss may be about to go up in smoke. And it's all because of the new government funding bill, which President Trump signed into law on Wednesday.
For the non-tokers amongst us, THC is the primary psychoactive compound found in cannabis – it's the part of the plant that gives consumers a high.
As it turns out, at some point while the funding bill was parked in the Senate, language was slipped in that would ban the sale of products like gummies, drinks, vapes, topical pain creams, and edibles that contain delta-9 THC in quantities of 0.4 percent milligrams or more per container. The amended bill, with the THC language intact, was then approved by both chambers of Congress and signed by Trump on Wednesday evening.
Here's a look at what that means for the booming hemp industry:
The provision “prevents the unregulated sale of intoxicating hemp-based or hemp-derived products, including Delta-8, from being sold online, in gas stations, and corner stores, while preserving non-intoxicating CBD and industrial hemp products,” according to a Senate Appropriations Committee summary.
It's unclear who exactly added the THC provision to the bill, but it's a good bet that Mitch McConnell had something to do with it. McConnell, it seems, may have been trying to undo a loophole to his 2018 Farm Bill that legalized the sale of hemp-derived THC products provided they contained less than 0.3 percent THC by dry weight.
The THC/CBD industry has been riding high ever since the passage of the farm bill seven years ago, something McConnell apparently never meant to happen. In an opinion piece published this past summer, McConnell wrote: "Companies looking to make a quick buck have been exploiting a loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill to take legal amounts of THC from hemp and turn it into intoxicating substances. These synthetic chemicals are then used as ingredients in appealing, candy-like products. Some products contain even higher THC levels than marijuana itself."
RELATED: The Zombie Generation Is All Around Us: How Do We Inject the Antidote and Save Our Children? (VIP)
Latest Research: Cannabis Can Mess Up Human Egg Cells
McConnell's change of heart didn't impress those in the hemp industry. Thomas Winstanley, executive vice president and general manager at Edibles.com, remarked, "I think the greatest irony for all of us in the category is, this is the man that gave us the hemp seeds. He was the man who taught us how to grow it and sow it, and now he’s the guy who wants to burn the crops and then salt the field."
Standing athwart McConnell on this matter is his Kentucky colleague, Rand Paul, who argued for stripping the THC provision from the funding bill ahead of the Senate vote. Only Paul and Ted Cruz voted in favor of removing the provision.
The hemp provision in this appropriations package wipes out nearly 100% of legal hemp products overnight: killing jobs, crushing farmers, and overriding 23 state laws that already regulate hemp responsibly.
— Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) November 11, 2025
Our farmers have turned to hemp as a lifeline when fertilizer, fuel, and… pic.twitter.com/JDrC0HVX7X
The hemp provision in this appropriations package wipes out nearly 100% of legal hemp products overnight: killing jobs, crushing farmers, and overriding 23 state laws that already regulate hemp responsibly.
Our farmers have turned to hemp as a lifeline when fertilizer, fuel, and equipment costs skyrocketed and crop prices fell. Instead of working with us to crack down on bad actors and synthetic cannabinoids, some in Congress chose prohibition.
Kentucky jobs are not collateral. Our farmers are not bargaining chips.
The Food and Drug Administration now must publish within 90 days a comprehensive list of natural and synthetic cannabinoids, and must provide a definition for "container" measurement. The new THC guidelines go into effect in one year, so the industry has some time to lobby for changes – that might be a hard sell, though, since only two senators seem sympathetic to the cause.
Up until now, the THC-infused edibles industry was expected to reach nearly $50 billion in sales by the year 2030. The funding bill did not ban the sale of non-intoxicating cannabidiol (CBD) and industrial hemp products, so you're safe if your preferred nibble falls in those categories.
