On August 4, 2026, a bipartisan coalition of 35 attorneys general (34 states, plus the U.S. Virgin Islands) sent a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole, and Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Susan Collins. The message is short and unambiguous: leave the November 2025 hemp redefinition alone.
The letter was signed by attorneys general from red and blue states alike, urging Congress to reject any effort to delay, repeal, suspend, or weaken the redefinition of “hemp” enacted in the FY2026 appropriations act (Pub. L. 119-37), and to ensure it takes effect as written and stays in place.
The 2018 Farm Bill defined hemp by delta-9 THC capped at 0.3% by dry weight basis. Opportunists, however, read that narrow definition as an open door. The new definition, enacted November 12, 2025 and scheduled to take effect November 12, 2026, closes this loophole by:
- Measuring total THC, including THCA and other isomers such as delta-8, rather than delta-9 alone
- Capping finished hemp-derived cannabinoid products at 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container
- Excluding products containing cannabinoids synthesized or manufactured outside the plant
The attorneys general offer a useful illustration of how wide the original untended loophole was: an 8-ounce package of hemp-derived gummies could legally contain more than 675 milligrams of THC and still sit below the 0.3% weight threshold. They also address the objection most often raised against the redefinition: it does not restrict industrial or agricultural hemp. Hemp grown for fiber, grain, and other industrial uses naturally contains only trace intoxicants. The new definition, they argue, restores what the 2018 Farm Bill was meant to do in the first place.
In the months since Congress acted, states have rewritten their own statutes to the new federal definition — Delaware, Michigan, Nebraska, New Jersey, Ohio, and North Carolina among them — and roughly twenty states and federal agencies have realigned their enforcement posture. Some states, such as Louisiana, have written their laws to defer automatically to the stricter federal standard.
If Congress reverses course now, the attorneys general warn, states face renewed litigation, inconsistent enforcement, regulatory uncertainty, increased youth access to intoxicating products, and disruption for the businesses that already did the work to comply.
One Chance to Grow Up applauds the on-going leadership from attorneys general across the country who understand this issue and are seeing the public impacts firsthand. Their letter couldn’t come at a more important time. Over this past weekend a one-month delay was included in the Senate’s version of the Continuing Resolution. Any delay compromises progress already made by Congress and the growing number of states and communities aligning with the new federal framework. It also sets a counterproductive precedent that bad actors can attempt to exploit.
The loophole must stay closed. Every month it remains open is another month in which high-potency THC products — sold as gummies, vapes, and drinks in gas stations and convenience stores, often in packaging designed to appeal to kids — reach young people without meaningful age verification, potency limits, or testing requirements. The adolescent brain remains vulnerable to these products until roughly age 26, and a delay is not a neutral pause. It would be a decision to extend the status quo.
When Congress established a delayed effective date in the November 2025 law, it did so to give hemp farmers, processors, and retailers time to come into compliance. That period was a compliance runway—not an invitation to renegotiate the law. Treating it as an opportunity to revisit the underlying policy turns its purpose on its head. When Congress established the delayed effective date into the November 2025 law, it did so to give hemp farmers, processors, and retailers time to come into compliance. That period was a compliance runway, not an invitation to renegotiate the law. Treating it as an opportunity to revisit the underlying policy turns its purpose on its head.
Precedent matters greatly here. A delay measure passed now would establish that the effective date of this provision may continue to be negotiable. It would hand the intoxicating hemp industry a template to run again at the next deadline, and the one after that.
That pattern is already visible. Throughout 2026, successive proposals have sought to delay implementation, with each new effort following the failure of the last. The delay currently attached to the Senate’s stopgap funding bill demonstrates why precedent matters. Instead of changing the law, it would suspend most of the provision’s effect until December 11, 2026 — the same date the funding bill expires. As a result, the legal status of intoxicating hemp products would become linked to Congress’s appropriations cycle, creating a recurring opportunity to seek another extension before each new funding deadline. Once implementation dates become recurring negotiating opportunities, every extension strengthens the expectation that another can be obtained.
This is not a question of where anyone stands on adult-use legalization. It is a question of whether intoxicating THC products sold to the general public in everyday retailers are regulated at all. Congress answered that question in November 2025. We urge lawmakers to let their thoughtful solution take effect.
If you want lawmakers to hear from you on this, our action form takes about a minute. It sends a short message to your members of Congress asking them to let the November 2025 definition take effect on schedule.
The full text of the attorneys general letter is available as a PDF below.