The 2025 Hemp Act now has two deadlines
Congress rewrote the federal definition of hemp in November 2025 and set one enforcement date. In September 2026 it split that date in two. Truly synthetic cannabinoids lose hemp status on November 12, 2026. The total-THC standard and the 0.4 milligram container cap follow on December 11.
Updated September 4, 2026, after H.R. 6500 was signed into law.
November 12, 2026
Cannabinoids the plant cannot make
Not capable of being naturally produced by a Cannabis sativa L. plant
December 11, 2026
Everything else in the Act
The total-THC standard, the per-container cap, and cannabinoids the plant can make
What falls under each date
The dividing line is not natural versus lab-made, which is how most coverage has described it. It is whether a cannabis plant can produce the compound at all. Delta-8 converted from CBD in a lab is still a cannabinoid the plant makes on its own, so it sits in the December group. Only cannabinoids the plant cannot make fall under November.
We do not list which cannabinoids those are here, because some of them are already restricted under rules that have nothing to do with this Act and a date on this page would tell you the wrong thing about them. Ask us about a specific product and we will tell you what we know about that one.
Cannabinoids the plant cannot make
- Ask us about a specific product and we will tell you what we know about that one
This group was never delayed, and it turns on the cannabinoid being present at all rather than on an amount, so there is no threshold here to compare with the December cap. Some cannabinoids are restricted under other rules regardless of this date, so check a specific product rather than reading a date off this card.
Everything else in the Act
- The 0.4 mg total THC per retail container cap
- The shift from 0.3% delta-9 THC to 0.3% total THC, which counts THCA
- THCA flower and pre-rolls
- Hemp-derived Delta-9 gummies, edibles and beverages
- Delta-8 and Delta-10, including product converted from CBD
- Full-spectrum CBD oils and tinctures over the container cap
Moved here from November 12 by H.R. 6500, signed September 2, 2026.
The 0.4 mg container cap, explained
The change with the widest reach is the per-container cap of 0.4 milligrams of total THC. Container means the innermost packaging that encloses the finished product for retail sale: a bottle, a bag, a box, a can, a cartridge.
For scale, a typical full-spectrum CBD tincture holds somewhere between 2 and 30 milligrams of total THC across the whole bottle. Every one of those is under 0.3% by dry weight and legal today. Under a per-container cap the weight percentage stops mattering and the total mass is what counts, so most of them fail.
That is why the Act reaches well past the intoxicating products that prompted it. Everyday full-spectrum oils, gummies and balms carrying trace THC get caught by the same number.
Most likely affected
- ● Full-spectrum tinctures and oils
- ● THC gummies and edibles
- ● THCA flower and pre-rolls
- ● Delta-8 and Delta-10 products
- ● Hemp-infused beverages
- ● Some full-spectrum balms
Expected to stay
- ● Broad-spectrum CBD, THC removed
- ● CBD isolate products
- ● CBG, CBN and other non-THC cannabinoids
- ● Topicals with negligible THC
- ● Industrial hemp: fiber, grain, seed oil
Not sure which side yours lands on? Full-spectrum, broad-spectrum and isolate walks through how to tell from the label and the lab report, and THCA and decarboxylation explains why total THC is calculated the way it is.
How the dates split
The 2025 Hemp Act arrived as Division B of Public Law 119-37, signed November 12, 2025, with a single effective date one year out. Through the first half of 2026 the whole industry planned around November 12, 2026.
On August 8, 2026 the Senate passed a stopgap funding bill 90 to 6 that pushed most of the hemp provisions to December 11. An amendment from Senator Ted Budd to strip the delay out was tabled 61 to 32. The House had not acted, so November 12 stayed operative for another three weeks and nobody could plan on the later date.
The House passed it 370 to 48 on September 1, 2026, and the President signed H.R. 6500 the following day. Section 2019 is the operative provision. The 0.3% delta-9 standard we have worked under since 2018 now holds through December 10, 2026.
One caveat worth carrying. H.R. 6500 funds the government through December 11, and the hemp date rides on that same deadline rather than standing on its own. If Congress moves the funding date, the hemp date can move with it.
What we're doing
We are selling every hemp product we carry, including the THC ones, right up to the date each falls under. Everything on our shelves is legal today and we stand behind all of it.
We stopped reordering the affected items months ago rather than waiting for the deadline, so what is on the shelf is what remains. We chose full compliance over testing how long a gray area holds, which means when a date arrives, those products come off.
Most of what we sell is unaffected. Our broad-spectrum and isolate lines, our topicals, and our CBG and CBN products all clear the new limits. We are also moving our house tincture lines to broad-spectrum distillate so the CBD, CBD+CBN and CBG formulas survive the change.
If you rely on a full-spectrum product, the window is now
We are not restocking the affected items, so what is on the shelf is the last of it. When it goes, it goes ahead of the deadline rather than on it.
Bring in what you currently use and we will tell you which date it falls under and what we would put in its place.
Common questions
Why are there two dates now?+
H.R. 6500, the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027, moved most of the 2025 Hemp Act from November 12 to December 11, 2026. The Senate passed it 90 to 6 on August 8, the House 370 to 48 on September 1, and the President signed it September 2, 2026. One narrow category was left on the original date: cannabinoids a cannabis plant cannot naturally produce.
Is Delta-8 in the November group or the December group?+
December. The dividing line is whether the plant can produce the cannabinoid at all, not whether a particular batch was converted in a lab. Cannabis produces Delta-8 naturally in small amounts, so Delta-8 made by converting CBD still falls under the December 11 date. November catches only the cannabinoids the plant cannot make. Some cannabinoids are restricted under other federal rules regardless of this date, so ask about a specific product rather than reading a date off this page.
Are CBD products being banned?+
No. CBD is not banned. The law restricts how much total THC a finished hemp product may contain. Broad-spectrum and isolate products, which have little or no THC, are expected to stay compliant. Full-spectrum products over the 0.4 mg per-container cap are the ones affected.
What does 0.4 milligrams per container mean?+
The total THC across the entire retail package, not per serving. A whole bottle of tincture, a whole bag of gummies, a single cartridge. Container means the innermost packaging that encloses the product for retail sale. A 30 mL full-spectrum tincture can hold several milligrams of total THC across the bottle while still sitting under 0.3% by weight, which is why the cap catches products the old percentage rule did not.
Can I still buy THC-containing hemp products right now?+
Yes. The 0.3% delta-9 standard holds through December 10, 2026, and everything on our shelves is legal today. Products in the November group stay legal through November 11.
Will my favorite product be affected?+
Full-spectrum products with naturally occurring THC are the most likely to be caught by the container cap. Broad-spectrum and isolate products generally are not. Bring in what you use, or ask us, and we will tell you which group it falls in.
Could the dates move again?+
Possibly. H.R. 6500 is a stopgap that funds the government through December 11, and the hemp provision rides on that same date. Congress could extend it again, replace it with a permanent framework, or let it take effect as written. We are planning as though December 11 holds.
Will The CBD Store stay open?+
Yes. Most of what we sell is broad-spectrum, isolate, topicals and non-hemp wellness products that the Act does not touch. We stopped reordering the affected items months ago and are selling through what is left.
Informational only, and not legal advice. This page reflects our reading of Public Law 119-37 (Division B) as enacted November 12, 2025, and of H.R. 6500, the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027, section 2019, signed September 2, 2026. Regulations, FDA guidance and further amendments may change what is written here. State law differs from federal law and several states restricted these products earlier. Consult a lawyer for advice about your own situation.