Why It Matters
A provision excluding products containing cannabinoids that cannot be naturally produced by the cannabis plant, such as THC-O, from the federal definition of hemp takes effect Nov. 12, according to a new Congressional Research Service (CRS) report.
The change will subject affected products to federal controlled-substance restrictions if they meet the statutory definition of marijuana or tetrahydrocannabinols (THC). The Food and Drug Administration's 90-day deadline to publish required cannabinoid lists expired in February, but the agency had not published them as of the report's Oct. 28 publication date.
The Big Picture
The definition change originated in the Continuing Appropriations, Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Extensions Act, 2026 (Pub. L. No. 119-37), enacted Nov. 12, 2025, which replaced the hemp definition's delta-9 THC threshold with a total THC concentration standard and added product exclusions. In September, Congress enacted the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027 (Pub. L. No. 119-103), delaying most provisions until Dec. 11 but retaining the original Nov. 12 effective date for products containing cannabinoids that cannot be naturally produced by cannabis.
The Drug Enforcement Administration's Aug. 20, 2020, interim final rule states that synthetically derived THC remains a Schedule I controlled substance. Its Feb. 13, 2023, opinion letter concludes that THC-O is Schedule I because it "can only be obtained synthetically." The Fourth Circuit reached a different interpretation in its Sept. 4, 2024, decision in Anderson v. Diamondback Investment Group, finding that hemp-derived THC-O fell within the 2018 farm bill's definition of hemp and declining to defer to the DEA's interpretation under Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo. The ruling addressed the earlier statutory definition, which Congress subsequently amended.
The Department of Justice issued a final rule on April 28 moving FDA-approved marijuana products and state-licensed medical marijuana to Schedule III. The department is considering whether to reschedule marijuana more broadly, but marijuana outside those categories remains in Schedule I. Some hemp industry groups have opposed the definitional changes, favoring FDA regulation of hemp-derived consumer products instead. Several state attorneys general have opposed delaying the restrictions, citing consumer protection concerns.
The Bottom Line
CRS identified four bills that would further delay or repeal the hemp definition changes. H.R. 7024 and S. 3686, both titled the Hemp Planting Predictability Act, and H.R. 7010 would delay implementation by two years. H.R. 6209, the American Hemp Protection Act of 2025, would repeal the changes entirely. CRS identified no enacted legislation providing a further delay as of Oct. 28.
Unless Congress intervenes, products containing cannabinoids that cannot be naturally produced by cannabis, including THC-O, will lose their exemption from federal controlled-substance restrictions on Nov. 12, 29 days before most remaining hemp definition changes take effect on Dec. 11.
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