President Trump Signs Ban on Most Hemp Products — Veterans’ Access Left Out

A provision to ban nearly all hemp-derived products has been passed by Congress and signed into law by the president as part of a broader legislative package to reopen the federal government. 

Since hemp cultivation was legalized in the 2018 Farm Bill, a marketplace of products containing hemp-derived substances has emerged, and state and federal lawmakers have been grappling with how to regulate hemp.

But instead of enacting sensible regulatory measures to ensure that hemp products are safe to consume, Congress and President Trump moved to completely prohibit hemp products with more than 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container, starting on November 12, 2026. 

This arbitrarily restrictive THC cap and blanket ban on all synthetic hemp-derived cannabinoids will render nearly all hemp products on the market illegal unless Congress moves to change the law again by next Fall.

Over the past seven years, the growth of hemp-derived products has been particularly significant in states like Texas and Louisiana, where people lack access to legal adult-use cannabis. Many patients and veterans have come to rely on hemp-derived THC and CBD products.

As our friends at Moms Mobilized explained:  

“With this vote, Congress has effectively cut off the only medical cannabis options available in 14 states, and forced sick children, veterans, seniors, and chronically ill Americans back to pharmaceuticals or the black market. This is not protection—it is harm.” 

— Amy Dawn Bourlon-Hilterbran, Vice President of Moms Mobilized

MPP firmly supports the right to access safe and regulated cannabinoid products.

The American people deserve to know that the hemp-derived products they are consuming are tested and held to regulatory standards. An outright ban is not the right path forward, and we will continue to advocate for Congress to enact sensible and responsible hemp and cannabis policies.

In another blow to sensible and humane policy, the final version of the "MilCon-VA" spending bill omits a provision supported by MPP to allow VA doctors to recommend medical cannabis. Previous versions of the appropriations bill had included protections for veterans. Adding insult to injury, Congress passed the deficient version of the bill the week of Veterans Day. Our veterans deserve better.

“Denying our veterans access to a medicine that so many use to ease physical pain, or the trauma of PTSD, is straight cruelty.”
— Adam Smith, MPP Executive Director in Marijuana Moment

Americans across the country know that prohibition does not work, and these counterproductive moves by Congress won't stop us from continuing to fight for the rights of veterans, patients, and adult-use consumers.