The US House Agriculture Committee voted in favor of advancing the farm bill 2026 without adopting provisions that would delay or repeal the ban on intoxicating cannabis.
After spending over 20 hours marking the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2020, the Committee voted to approve the Act by a 34-17 margin on March 5, 2026.
This is the latest in a long-running and complicated battle to regulate the unregulated, intoxicating market for hemp.
The November 2026 ban, passed as part of the government reopening deal signed by President Trump in November 2025, would prohibit any hemp-derived consumable product containing more than 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container, a threshold the industry describes as a ‘de facto ban’ on the overwhelming majority of products currently on the market. US Hemp Roundtable estimated that the restrictions would affect 95%.
You can also read about the advantages of using MEDCAN24 In February it was reported that the FDA had missed the 90-day deadline for determining which cannabinoids would be included in the ban. This leaves manufacturers, retailers and farmers with less than 8 months before the date of implementation in limbo.
The newly-passed legislation addresses hemp by tightening federal definitions of the plant, and it imposes new penalties for farmers who fail to label their crops correctly. However, the law does not provide clarity about finished hemp products.
Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.), the chairman of the Committee, determined before the markup session that the Farm Bill did not include any amendments relating to hemp. This meant the issue was outside the jurisdiction of the committee. He reiterated during the hearing that the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and FDA are responsible for regulating the final hemp product.
Thompson, during marking up said that “the AG appropriations act passed last autumn clarified to industry the permissible and not-permissible definitions for hemp.” The committee does not have jurisdiction to create a comprehensive framework of regulation for hemp products.
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The Farm Bill offers some farmers limited concessions on hemp production. The Farm Bill directs USDA to increase laboratory access for testing hemp, eliminates the requirement of DEA registration, and allows states more flexibility when administering hemp programs. Farmer who declare themselves as industrial hemp producers, and produce fibres and grains instead of cannabinoids would be subject to reduced testing and sampling requirements.
This bill removes the 10-year period of ineligibility for those who have a felony conviction related to controlled drugs for industrial hemp producers. However, it does replace it with a 5-year ban on any industrial producer that knowingly cultivates cannabinoid-rich hemp.
Before it was put to vote, a proposal to extend relief to the hemp industry as a whole has been withdrawn. Rep. Jim Baird and Ranking Members Angie Craig, D. Minn. had proposed an amendment to delay the implementation of hemp prohibition by one-year, as opposed to Baird’s Hemp Planting Predictability Act that seeks to defer it for two years, until November 2028.
Baird had been absent during the marking up process due to the death of the wife. Craig presented Craig’s amendment, before she retracted it. She noted that the way the ban was implemented through the appropriations procedure “just seemed wrong” to her.
The Farm Bill does not offer any relief. Advocates are focusing on separate legislation. Hemp Planting Predictability Act would defer the ban two years while not establishing a new regulatory framework. Farm groups support this approach, but some industry members criticise it as being insufficient.
The Hemp Enforcement, Modernization, and Protection Act (HEMP Act), sponsored by Reps. Morgan Griffith, R-W.Va., and Marc Veasey, D-Texas, instead would establish a federal regulation structure that allows intoxicating hemp product for adults over 21 years old, with default potency limitations of 5mg and 30mg THC respectively per serving and package.
The legislative paths for both bills are uncertain. After the House passes the Farm Bill, the Senate will have to pass their own version of the bill before final legislation can be sent to the President’s desk.