Starting December 11, Federal Law Caps Hemp Products at 0.4 Milligrams of THC

On December 11, federal law will cap finished hemp products at 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container, a limit that nearly every hemp gummy, drink, vape and THCA flower jar on shelves today exceeds.

A month earlier, on November 12, products made with cannabinoids the cannabis plant can't produce naturally lose federal hemp status. Products over the cap become marijuana under federal law, a Schedule I controlled substance. The industry estimates the change reaches about 95% of a market worth roughly $28 billion.

What the law changes

The 2018 farm bill defined hemp as cannabis with no more than 0.3% delta-9 THC by dry weight. That test ignored THCA, which turns into delta-9 when heated, and it said nothing about delta-8 made by chemically converting CBD. A national market of gummies, drinks, vapes and high-THCA flower grew in that gap.

Section 781 of the November 2025 funding law, signed November 12, 2025, closes it in three ways:

• Total THC. The 0.3% plant limit now counts total THC, including THCA, instead of delta-9 alone.
• A per-container cap. Finished products sold to consumers, whether eaten, inhaled or applied to the skin, can hold no more than 0.4 milligrams of total THC and similar cannabinoids in the whole container. The cap is per container, not per serving.
• No synthetics. Cannabinoids the cannabis plant can't produce naturally, or that are synthesized outside the plant, are excluded from hemp altogether.

The law defines a container as the innermost packaging that touches the product, such as a jar, bottle, bag or cartridge. Intermediate products sold between businesses keep a 0.3% total THC limit. Hemp grown for fiber, grain and seed isn't the target.

Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who championed hemp legalization in 2018, wrote the provision into the bill that ended the 2025 government shutdown. His home-state colleague Rand Paul tried to strip it out. The Senate tabled Paul's amendment 76-24 on November 10, 2025.

What it covers

At 0.4 mg, a single 5 mg gummy is 12.5 times the cap. A 10 mg drink is 25 times over. A 20-count jar of 5 mg gummies holds 250 times the limit.

Examples from the Hemp Law Group's summary of the federal ban.

The cap also reaches products most people don't think of as intoxicating. Full-spectrum CBD oils and lotions carry trace THC, and many exceed 0.4 mg once the whole bottle is counted. The U.S. Hemp Roundtable says more than 90% of non-intoxicating hemp products are over the limit. A December 2025 executive order acknowledged that some full-spectrum CBD products will again be treated as marijuana and told officials to work with Congress on a fix.

Products that fall outside the hemp definition become marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act. The Congressional Research Service has said it's unclear how, or how hard, federal agencies will enforce that, since the Justice Department doesn't comprehensively enforce marijuana law today.

Who it hits

The industry's own figures put the stakes at about $28 billion in sales. Whitney Economics, which studies the market, estimated in September that the ban threatens $28.3 billion in retail revenue, 225,000 jobs and $2.1 billion in state sales tax. Those estimates come from the industry side and haven't been independently checked.

The pain is already showing up in individual companies. Kentucky's Cornbread Hemp, which has 105 employees and sells drinks in 18 states, told the AP it expects about $65 million in revenue this year and has said it could live with a 5 mg cap. Wisconsin drink maker Drinkin' Buds has halted production. Mainstream retailers are exposed too: some Target stores sell THC seltzers, and Total Wine & More is among the alcohol retailers defending the industry, as cannabis seltzer sales help offset falling alcohol sales.

Payment processors are moving ahead of the law. According to the Hemp Law Group, Square told merchants to remove CBD and hemp-derived products by October 15.

The Medicare CBD conflict

The administration is running a program that points the other way. Since April 1, a Medicare pilot called the Substance Access Beneficiary Engagement Incentive has let participating organizations give patients up to $500 a year in hemp products. Its limit is 3 milligrams of total THC per serving, more than seven times the federal per-container cap.

Smart Approaches to Marijuana sued, arguing the pilot conflicts with the 2025 law. A judge denied the group's request for a temporary restraining order and in May dismissed the suit for lack of standing. The group has appealed. CMS has said it will adjust the program's definitions to match federal law.

States copying the cap

Several states have written the 0.4 mg limit into their own law, so in some of them products would stay off shelves even if Congress changed course.

What it means for New York shops

New York already bans synthetic and isomerized cannabinoids such as delta-8 and delta-10 in hemp products, so the November 12 synthetics cutoff matches existing state rules.

The December 11 cap is a bigger change. New York's hemp rules let a licensed hemp retailer sell edibles with up to 1 mg of total THC per serving and 10 mg per package, and tinctures with up to 100 mg per package. Most of those products sit above 0.4 mg per container, so items that comply with state rules today would fall outside the federal hemp definition.

We found no public guidance, as of October 18, from the state's Office of Cannabis Management on how it will treat licensed hemp products that comply with state rules but break the federal cap. Licensed adult-use dispensaries are not affected the same way, because their products were never sold as hemp.

What's coming

• November 12, 2026: Cannabinoids the plant can't produce naturally lose federal hemp status. Illinois and Missouri state laws take effect.
• November 13, 2026: New Jersey's licensed-channel requirement for hemp drinks over the cap begins.
• December 11, 2026: The total-THC definition and the 0.4 mg per-container cap take effect for everything else, including cannabinoids that occur naturally but are made outside the plant.

The December date comes from a 30-day delay Congress passed in September. The White House has said it won't support another extension, and bills to regulate, delay or repeal the ban have been introduced but none has passed. The FDA still hasn't published the cannabinoid lists and container guidance the law required by February 10, 2026, according to the Congressional Research Service.