Senate Funding Bill Includes 30-Day Extension for Looming Hemp Ban

(Photo: NDZ/STAR MAX/IPx 2022, AP Images)

A Senate funding bill released over the weekend includes a month-long moratorium on the federal hemp ban, granting lawmakers more time to determine the future of the $28.4 billion hemp-derived THC market.

The resolution, which is expected to go to a vote this week, delayed the hemp prohibition from November 12 to December 11. Synthetic cannabinoids not derived from cannabis will still be banned come November, but everything else — be it flower, gummies, tinctures, vapes or beverages made with hemp — could remain on shelves for the time being.

If the bipartisan resolution passes the Senate, it would still need approval from the House of Representatives and the President.

Industry leaders such as the U.S. Hemp Roundtable have applauded the move, calling it “welcome news” for hemp farmers, small businesses, retailers and manufacturers across the country. They warn, however, that there is still much work to be done before the end of the year.

“The coming weeks will be critical as lawmakers continue debating how hemp should be regulated moving forward. For now, we celebrate this important step forward and thank the elected officials who recognized the need to protect America’s hemp farmers and businesses,” the U.S. Hemp Roundtable said in a press release.

The current landscape was set by the 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized products with less than 0.3% THC by dry weight. The law ushered in an era of widely available hemp products and supports an estimated 328,000 jobs across various industries.

A push led by Senator Mitch McConnell undid the language less than a decade later. Legislation passed at the end of 2025 set a one-year window for the prohibition of hemp products with over 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container. Advocates say that the ban will erase 90% of non-intoxicating goods currently available on the market.

Lawmakers have proposed a handful of paths forward that will be considered as the moratorium draws to a close. In July, Reps. Andy Barr (R-Ky.) and Angie Craig (D-Minn.) unveiled the Lawful Hemp Protection Act, a framework for the legalization, regulation and taxation of hemp-derived cannabinoid products. If passed, the law would create a regulatory system overseen by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which would be tasked with creating cannabinoid limits, packaging standards and a three-tier distribution system akin to alcohol.

A press release from Barr’s office claimed that the proposal has the backing of the White House, though neither the Trump administration nor the President himself have publicly endorsed the bill.