Major Changes to Hemp Regulation Are Taking Effect: Is Your Business Ready?
The hemp industry is preparing for significant federal restrictions that will change which hemp-derived products can legally remain on the market, with key provisions taking effect in November and December.
Cannabis Law Report · · 2 min read
November 4, 2026
The hemp industry is preparing for significant federal restrictions that will change which hemp-derived products can legally remain on the market, with key provisions taking effect in November and December. At the same time, states continue to take different approaches to intoxicating hemp products, creating added complexity for manufacturers, retailers and consumer brands. How should companies assess which products and markets remain viable, and what should they be doing now to prepare for the changing regulatory landscape?
Why do these upcoming federal restrictions matter to companies involved in the hemp industry?
Eric Berlin: The restrictive definitions of hemp become effective over the next two months and will have significant ramifications. The change in the law severely restricts the markets for intoxicating hemp products, as well as full-spectrum CBD products. These markets have grown since 2018, to multibillion-dollars of annual sales. What did Congress do? Congress rewrote the federal definition of hemp to exclude converted cannabinoids, plants or products with more than 0.3% of all THC cannabinoids, not just Delta-9 THC, and excluded products with more than 0.4 milligrams of THC per package. The first, in terms of converted synthetic cannabinoids, becomes effective in November, and the rest becomes effective on December 11. In doing so, Congress folded much of what was legal hemp back into illegal marijuana. State laws are similarly evolving but remain divergent.
Why is this an issue that businesses should be paying attention to right now?
Eric: The new definition of hemp takes effect in weeks. Products in development and in inventory must comply on day one. Don’t plan for a legislative rescue. Bills to fix this face an uncertain future and uncertain timing. In addition, the FDA’s list of covered cannabinoids will also shape where the lines fall. This is dynamic, but happening imminently, and that’s why it requires attention now.
What should companies be doing now to prepare for the changing regulatory landscape?
Eric: I have several suggestions for preparing for the changing legislative landscape.
First, to comply with federal law, stop producing and selling non-compliant hemp products, which are most of the products that are being sold. The choices there are sell through, reformulate or exit the business.
Second, comply with state law and map products against the state laws. For some products, the states are going to eliminate them entirely. For other products, state-licensed cannabis channels may be the answer.
Third, tighten your supplier specifications and the analysis of certificates of analysis to make sure that all the products and inputs are complying with the laws.
Fourth, revisit your contracts, and that includes representations, indemnities, change of law clauses, recalls and even insurance. All those can be implicated by this legal change.
And finally, fifth, stay flexible. Monitor Congress, the FDA and the DEA, and use your counsel to do so.
From Cannabis Law Report, reporting a story first published by dentons.com.
Information, not legal advice. Check the primary source before relying on it.
