What Happened?

If you buy products containing THC-O, they will lose their federal hemp status Nov. 12 and could face federal drug restrictions. The change comes from a 2025 spending law, according to a Legis1 review of a congressional report. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) published the report on Oct. 28. ​

The change applies to products containing cannabinoids that cannabis cannot naturally produce. Those products face federal controlled-substance restrictions if they meet the legal definition of marijuana or tetrahydrocannabinols, also known as THC. Losing hemp status does not by itself mean every affected product meets that controlled-substance definition.

Why Does it Matter to Me?

For customers and hemp businesses, the change affects how federal law classifies products containing THC-O. Congress set the change in the Continuing Appropriations, Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Extensions Act, 2026, which became law Nov. 12, 2025.

That law replaced the hemp definition’s delta-9 THC threshold with a total THC concentration standard. In September, Congress delayed most other changes to the hemp definition but left the earlier date for compounds cannabis cannot naturally produce.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) missed its February deadline to publish required cannabinoid lists, which remained unpublished as of Oct. 28. The lists had not been published as of Oct. 28. The FDA had not published the required cannabinoid lists as of Oct. 28, after missing a deadline that expired in February.

Both Sides, Now

Some hemp industry groups oppose the definition changes and favor FDA regulation of hemp-derived consumer products instead. Several state attorneys general have opposed delaying the restrictions, citing consumer protection concerns.

Industry complaints about enforcement followed raids on nine hemp and vape shops in Allen, Texas, in 2024, The Dallas Morning News reported. Police said products seized in the raids tested with illegal THC levels.

A 2023 Drug Enforcement Administration letter concluded THC-O was a controlled substance because it could only be made synthetically. A federal appeals court reached a different conclusion in *Anderson v. Diamondback Investment Group* in 2024, finding the hemp-derived THC-O in that dispute fell under the earlier hemp definition.

What Happens Next?

CRS identified four bills that would change the timetable or repeal the definition changes:

  • Two matching bills: House and Senate versions of the Hemp Planting Predictability Act would delay the changes by two years.
  • Another House bill: A separate proposal would also delay them by two years.
  • A repeal bill: The American Hemp Protection Act of 2025 would repeal the changes entirely.

Congress had enacted no further delay as of Oct. 28. Most remaining hemp-definition changes are set to take effect Dec. 11.

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