A bipartisan group of lawmakers is moving to slow down the federal hemp THC ban that Congress quietly enacted during last year’s government shutdown, giving the industry more time to adjust and reopening a debate that many thought was settled.
On January 12, Rep. Jim Baird of Indiana introduced the Hemp Planting Predictability Act, a short bill that would delay implementation of the new federal hemp definition from one year to three. The change would push enforcement from November 2026 to November 2028, buying time for farmers, manufacturers, and regulators to negotiate a regulatory alternative to prohibition.
As reported by Marijuana Moment, the bill arrives after weeks of escalating concern from state officials, brewers, farmers, and hemp trade groups who say the existing timeline is unworkable.
A one-line fix with major consequences
The bill itself is only two pages long and makes a single change. It amends Section 781 of the appropriations law that ended the 2025 shutdown by striking the phrase “365 days” and replacing it with “3 years.”
That one edit pauses a sweeping policy shift that would otherwise take effect next year. Under the shutdown deal, most hemp-derived products would be treated as illegal marijuana if they contain more than 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container. The law also bans synthetic and chemically converted cannabinoids and redefines hemp in a way that collapses much of the post-2018 market.
High Times previously broke down the implications of that language in detail in its coverage of the shutdown deal that recriminalized hemp, setting off a one-year countdown that many operators described as existential.
Bipartisan backing and planting season pressure
Baird’s bill has attracted bipartisan support from the start. Initial cosponsors include Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, Rep. Gabe Evans of Colorado, Rep. Tim Moore of North Carolina, and Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota.
In statements following the bill’s introduction, lawmakers framed the delay as a matter of basic agricultural reality.
“Planting and growing crops requires planning well in advance,” Baird said, noting that farmers made investment decisions under the framework created by the 2018 Farm Bill and now face sudden legal uncertainty.
Craig echoed that concern, saying recent changes “pulled the rug out from under Minnesota’s hemp producers, craft brewers, and retailers” at a time when many small businesses are already dealing with rising costs and instability.
Those concerns align with what High Times reported in November, when states began signaling they would push back against the federal cap rather than immediately dismantle regulated hemp markets.
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