In a move that’s sent shockwaves through the hemp industry and reignited fierce debate across political aisles, a little-noticed provision in the federal spending bill signed by President Donald Trump on November 13, 2025, has effectively banned most THC-infused hemp products nationwide. The new law, which prohibits any hemp-derived product containing more than 0.4 milligrams of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) per container, is poised to upend a $28.4 billion industry, threaten hundreds of thousands of jobs, and reshape the legal landscape for consumable cannabis products in the United States.
The ban, quietly inserted into the yearlong funding package for the Department of Agriculture, targets a wide array of products: gummies, drinks, topical salves, vapes, and even flower buds—items that have become staples in gas stations, wellness shops, and specialty retailers from Texas to Illinois. According to ABC News, this crackdown closes what lawmakers and regulators have called a “loophole” created by the 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized hemp and, unintentionally, opened the door for low-dose THC products to flood the mainstream market.
For many in the hemp business, the consequences are dire. The U.S. Hemp Roundtable, an industry advocacy group, warns that the ban “threatens to eliminate America’s $28.4 billion hemp industry and jeopardizes more than 300,000 American jobs.” Their estimates are stark: 95% of the market could vanish, small businesses and farms could shutter across the country, and state governments stand to lose as much as $1.5 billion in tax revenue. “They sneak that in and crush the industry. My business is completely over,” said Stacy, a hemp farmer from Woodstock, Illinois, who called into C-SPAN’s Washington Journal the day after the bill’s passage. She explained that her topical joint and muscle salve, which “doesn’t get anybody high – it’s a topical product,” would now be illegal. “I have one year to wind this business down and nobody is talking about the hundreds of thousands of people, farmers, processors, retail stores. This is going to have incredible ripple effects across the economy.”
The provision’s supporters, however, argue it’s a necessary correction. Senator Mitch McConnell, a senior figure on both the Senate Agriculture and Appropriations Committees, has long contended that companies have “exploited” the Farm Bill’s language by “taking legal amounts of THC from hemp and turning it into intoxicating substances.” That concern is echoed by dozens of attorneys general, who wrote to Congress in October 2025 warning that the 2018 law had been “wrongly exploited by bad actors to sell recreational synthetic THC products across the country.” Their letter described the “rapid growth of an underregulated industry that threatens public health and safety and undermines law enforcement nationwide.”
Nowhere is the debate more heated than in Texas, where the hemp industry has grown into an $8 billion powerhouse supporting thousands of jobs. The ban restores a measure Texas Republicans sought earlier in 2025, following a raucous legislative session that saw Governor Greg Abbott veto a bill banning THC products, instead opting for new regulations and a ban for minors. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, a vocal supporter of prohibition, hailed the federal move as a major victory. “The THC ban has been a priority for me, and I appreciate Congress addressing this important issue at the national level,” Patrick wrote on social media. “I believe this ban will save a generation from getting hooked on dangerous drugs.”
Yet, the ban has exposed deep rifts among Texas Republicans. Senator John Cornyn supported the provision, voting against an amendment to strip the hemp language from the bill. Senator Ted Cruz, by contrast, was one of only two Republicans to support the amendment, arguing for state-level control rather than a “one-size-fits-all federal standard.” Representatives Dan Crenshaw and Troy Nehls also voiced their preference for leaving the issue to the states, even as they voted for the overall funding package to avoid a government shutdown. “That wasn’t going to make me vote against this and keep the government shut down,” Crenshaw told The Texas Tribune. “We’ll leave that issue for another day.”
Other Texas Republicans, like Representative Pete Sessions, praised the bill for closing the loophole that allowed high-potency THC products such as Delta-8 to “flood our communities.” Sessions, a longtime advocate for stricter regulations, argued that the previous legal framework enabled the sale of “intoxicating and dangerous high-potency THC products.” According to The Texas Tribune, the issue had previously caused a rift between Lieutenant Governor Patrick and Governor Abbott, with Patrick pushing for a full ban and Abbott seeking stricter oversight instead.
Opponents of the federal ban, both in Texas and nationwide, are not taking the news quietly. The Texas Cannabis Policy Center’s director, Heather Fazio, said the new law was a setback after a “long, drug out fight for freedom” against state-level prohibition. “Banning it and sending us back into an era of prohibition is going to cause far more harm than good,” Fazio said. “The U.S. should regulate rather than prohibit hemp products.” The Texas Hemp Business Council echoed these concerns, stating, “Hemp is too vital to the American economy and to the livelihoods of millions to be dismantled by rushed, politically driven legislation.” The group pledged to “pursue every legal and legislative option to overturn these harmful provisions and restore a fair, science-based system that continues to protect minors, ensure product safety and preserve the economic opportunities Congress created in 2018.”
There’s also widespread concern about the impact on consumers—especially seniors, veterans, and patients who rely on non-intoxicating hemp-derived products for pain management or sleep. The U.S. Hemp Roundtable notes that more than 90% of these products contain more than 0.4 milligrams of THC per container, meaning the new law could leave many scrambling for alternatives or, worse, force them to break federal law to obtain relief. “Disrupting their care and leaving them scrambling for potentially harmful alternatives,” the group warned, “is not the answer.”
The ban is set to take effect one year after the legislation’s enactment, giving businesses and consumers a brief window to adjust or challenge the law. Unless Congress reverses course, nearly all consumable hemp products—edibles, drinks, vapes, and more—will become illegal across the United States, regardless of state laws or past efforts to regulate the industry locally.
As the dust settles, the battle lines are clear: proponents see the ban as a long-overdue protection against an unregulated market and the dangers of intoxicating substances, while critics warn of economic devastation, lost jobs, and a return to prohibition-era policies. With legal challenges and political pushback already brewing, the future of America’s hemp industry—and the millions who depend on it—remains anything but certain.
