This article was updated on September 02, 2026 In December 2025, we asked our in-house team of experts how they expected to see the industry evolve over the coming year.
The US House Agriculture Committee has voted to advance the 2026 farm bill without adopting any provisions to delay or repeal the incoming ban on intoxicating hemp.
The incoming changes to hemp classification in the US are already facing major issues, with the Government’s own Congressional Research Service (CRS) stating that it remains ‘unclear’ how it will be enforced in practice.
Last week, the US government voted to impose a blanket ban on all so-called ‘intoxicating hemp’ substances, ending what has been a contentious and long-running battle to regulate the recent emergence of THC substitutes.
The long-running battle over the future of the US hemp industry has become an unlikely flashpoint in efforts to end the longest government shutdown in history.
Efforts to close the so-called ‘hemp loophole’ in the US, which would have banned the sale of hemp-derived products containing any detectable amount of THC, could be postponed by a year, giving operators room to adapt their operations.
Texas medical cannabis and hemp businesses both enjoyed some major, yet largely unexpected news over the weekend, not only ensuring the continued legality of hemp but significantly expanding the state’s medical cannabis programme.
A Republican-led US House committee has advanced a controversial spending bill that would redefine hemp under federal law, placing sweeping new restrictions on popular intoxicating hemp substances such as Delta-8 THC and many forms of CBD oils, a move that industry leaders say could devastate the $30 billion national hemp market.
Intoxicating hemp product sellers in Arizona could now face criminal charges, raids and fines as a Country Court Judge ruled to dismiss a temporary restraining order from industry representatives.
