The US Hemp Roundtable Urges for Action Following Redefinition of Hemp

On November 24, 2025, the US Hemp Roundtable issued a press release regarding the action points needed for the hemp industry following the passage of the FY26 Agriculture Appropriations Bill (1,2). The legislation included provisions that closed a loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill, redefined hemp, and also banned any product that contained more than 0.4 mg total tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) (2).

Following the bill signing into law, the US Hemp Roundtable had issued their own statement, expressing their concerns with the bill (2,3).

“Businesses are deeply disappointed by the decisions of Congress and their openness to receiving false information so easily,” shared Art Massolo, U.S. Hemp Roundtable President and Cycling Frog VP of Business Development (2,3). “The next year will be critical in determining the future of hemp. As a significant American industry, we are committed to sharing with Congress the real story about hemp. Because the truth is that good actors in the industry have created a self-regulation authority to protect consumers. But we need Congress’ help to keep the bad actors out. Hemp is here to stay – let’s do it right.”

The hemp provisions will take affect one year after the bills signing.

In the US Hemp Roundtable’s recent press release, it mentions that if there is no action taken by Congress, 95% of hemp extract products that are being actively sold in the marketplace will be labeled as Schedule I narcotics (1). The last 5% of THC-isolates would then be “impossible to manufacture given the limits of extraction.” Grain farming, as well as the cannabinoid supply chain, would cause significant issues to the cannabis industry (1). A member of the organizations’ Farmers Advisory Committee, reported that he would be “left with over $1 million of unsold biomass from this year’s harvest due to broken contracts.”

“Our first priority is to secure an additional one-year moratorium on the effective date of the ban. We’ve seen a strong public backlash, with many more Members of Congress raising their voices in favor of regulation, not prohibition. This additional one-year period would allow for the appropriate level of transparency and scrutiny needed to reach a responsible resolution. We ask you to join our grassroots efforts to convince Congress to add this extension to the continuing resolution in late January,” the press release states (1). “Second, we will be supporting efforts led by Sen. Rand Paul and members of the Minnesota congressional delegation to ensure that states have the authority to regulate hemp without federal interference – setting their own policies on THC potency and permitted form factors.”

Lastly, the US Hemp Roundtable is working together to create federal regulatory framework that would replace the hemp ban. The organization has been meeting with Representative Morgan Griffith of Virginia and Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, who are both drafting legislation that will be introduced soon (1). The US Hemp Roundtable is asking for action that includes (1):

• Extend the hemp ban moratorium from 1 to 2 years.
• Guarantee states’ full authority to regulate hemp across all form factors and strengths without federal interference. To protect states without regulatory frameworks, raise the federal floor on potency from the current 0.4 mg THC per container to a minimum of 5 mg THC per serving and 30-day supplies.
• Oppose carveouts for any one form factor.
• Establish robust federal regulation requiring GMP, third-party testing, truth-in-labeling, prohibiting misleading packaging, and banning sales to minors.
• Ban synthetic/artificial cannabinoids masquerading as hemp, while allowing bioconversions for naturally-occuring cannabinoids in greater than trace amounts.
• Maintain a unity-first approach – open to all collaboration while finding bipartisan solutions that keep the entire hemp industry alive.

The US Hemp Roundtable will be hosting a webinar regarding the next steps forward for hemp on Wednesday, December 10, 2025, at 3pm EST (1).

References

1. This is an inflection point for hemp https://hempsupporter.com/news/this-is-an-inflection-point-for-hemp/ (accessed Nov 25, 2025).
2. Colli, M. US government shutdown ends with redefinition of Hemp https://www.cannabissciencetech.com/view/us-government-shutdown-ends-with-redefinition-of-hemp (accessed Nov 25, 2025).
3. U.S. Hemp Roundtable: Industry Setback Leads to 365-day Mission to Regulate https://hempsupporter.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Hemp-365-Release-11.13.25.pdf (accessed Nov 13, 2025).