US Rep. Lays Out Plan to Avert Federal Hemp THC Product Ban After Midterms - It's all about my bill....

U.S. House Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Va., on Monday unveiled his plan to prevent the federal government’s forthcoming ban on intoxicating hemp products from going into effect on Dec. 11.

Griffith, who chairs the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, said he plans to attach legislation that would regulate, not prohibit, cannabinoid hemp products to an anticipated reconciliation package during the lame-duck session after the November midterms, Roll Call reported.

Unlike non-budgetary measures, reconciliation bills, often used to fast-track changes to federal spending, only require a simple majority to pass and cannot be filibustered. Either way, the U.S. Senate voted, 61-32, in August to delay the ban on certain hemp-derived products by four weeks – from Nov. 12 to Dec. 11 – indicating there is appetite in the upper chamber for an alternative to prohibition.

The prohibition language, to criminalize the sale of hemp-derived products that contain more than 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container or cannabinoids that are synthesized or unnatural, was originally included in a November 2025 appropriations package to end a 43-day government shutdown. The intent was to close a 2018 Farm Bill loophole that opened the door for intoxicating hemp products to land on the shelves at gas stations, smoke shops and convenience stores during the past six years.

In January 2026, Griffith and Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Texas, introduced the Hemp Enforcement, Modernization and Protection (HEMP) Act, legislation that would create a federal regulatory framework for hemp-derived products for those 21 and older, including placing an intoxicating cannabinoid limit (such as THC) of 5 milligrams per serving and 30 milligrams per package, should the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continue to take a hands-off approach to regulation.

“I think we need to get my THC regulatory bill passed, and if we could get that into a reconciliation bill before the 11th of December, that’d be fabulous,” Griffith told reporters on Monday. “I truly believe if we don’t do something before that December 11th deadline, that it’s going to create all kinds of issues.”