How New Government Spending Bill Will Impact Current THC Industry

LOUISIANA (KPEL-FM) - This week, Congress finally ended the longest government shutdown in American history, and that's a great thing.

With the passing of the new spending bill, there is an amendment changing the legal definition of hemp.

For years, stores have been selling things like delta-8 gummies, THC drinks, vapes, and other “hemp” products because the old law focused only on delta-9 THC percentages in the plant.

That loophole is now gone.

Here's how it could potentially put a major crimp in America's hemp industry.

New Rule: THC Is Capped At Almost Zero

The bill says a hemp product can only have 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container, which is almost nothing.

For comparison:

A normal delta-8 gummy = 10–25 mg
THC drinks = 2–10 mg per can
New legal limit = 0.4 mg total

So almost all current THC/“hemp-derived” products will become illegal under federal law.

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According to forbes.com, for the seven years hemp product is made from hemp, defined as cannabis that contains 0.3% of delta-9 THC or less, have been legal under the law on a Federal level.

Now this is all set to all change.

From forbes.com -

The amendment now changes the definition of hemp, closing the so-called “loophole” that gave birth to the intoxicating hemp industry. The amendment bans the synthetic manufacture of cannabinoids—most intoxicating hemp products are made by converting CBD into the more desirable delta-9 THC through a chemical process, and other cannabinoids like delta-8 and others.

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Many Products Will Disappear Or Have To Change

Gummies, drinks, vapes, edibles — most of the hemp-THC products you see in shops, gas stations, and online — won’t meet the new limit.

These products will likely:

1. Be reformulated,
2. Be sold only in marijuana-legal states, or
3. Stop existing altogether.

These changes don't kick in immediately. Businesses have about a year before federal enforcement really kicks in, and a lot can change in this time.

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The bottom line is, the new federal spending has basically decided “If it gets you high and it comes from hemp, it’s no longer allowed.”

This will wipe out most delta-8 and other THC hemp products currently on the shelves unless they’re reformulated to extremely low levels.

Read more over at forbes.com.