President Donald Trump is urging congressional lawmakers to take action to amend a law that threatens to federally recriminalize hemp-derived full-spectrum CBD products in November.
“I am calling on Congress to update the Law to ensure that Americans can continue to access the full-spectrum CBD products they have come to rely on, and that help them, while preserving Congress’s intent to restrict the sale of products that pose Health risks,” the president said in a Truth Social post on Thursday, the same day his administration announced it is moving forward to reschedule marijuana.
“We must get this done RIGHT and FAST, especially for those who saw that CBD helps them,” he said. “Plus, I am told it will also help our GREAT FARMERS, who we love, and will always be there for.”
Hemp derivatives with less than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC on a drug-weight basis were federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill that Trump signed during his first term in office. But late last year, he signed new legislation containing provisions that will redefine hemp to make it so only products with 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container will remain legal after November 12.
Industry advocates say that the provisions as enacted threaten to prohibit intoxicating and synthetic cannabinoid products but also stand to remove popular full-spectrum CBD products that many Americans use therapeutically from the market.
“ONE in FIVE adults used it in the past year, and many say it improved their chronic pain enormously,” the president said in his social media post, adding that hemp-derived CBD “has made a HUGE difference for so many people.”
He also referenced a new initiative the administration launched this month to cover up to $500 worth of hemp-derived products each year for eligible Medicare patients. The program being implemented by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) focuses largely on CBD but also allows products to have up to 3 milligrams of total THC per serving.
“In December, I signed a very important Executive Order calling for Research and Innovation for Hemp-derived CBD,” Trump said. “Our wonderful Dr. Mehmet Oz moved fast to follow the directive in the Executive Order, and launched a model for some Seniors earlier this month. But more must be done!”
“Please get it done, and SOON,” the president said in reference to a congressional fix for the broad recriminalization set to take effect in November. “Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
It’s not clear how far Trump wants to scale back the scope of the scheduled federal restrictions on hemp products and what kinds of revised THC rules and limitations he would prefer to sign into law.
In separate remarks in the Oval Office on Thursday, the president highlighted the medical benefits of marijuana hours after DOJ issued a rule to federally reschedule cannabis.
“A lot of people are suffering from big problems, which this seems to be the best answer,” the president said in the Oval Office. “They’re very happy about it.”
“So hopefully you don’t need it,” he said. “But if you do need it, I hear it’s the best of all the alternatives.”
Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers in Congress this week filed amendments aimed at delaying the hemp product ban for another year and creating a framework for continued legal sales, with new restrictions and clarifications. The House Rules Committee is expected to decide next week whether any such proposal to amend the pending Farm Bill can be considered for floor votes.
A number of other bipartisan hemp reform bills are also pending in Congress.
Last week, for example, Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Joni Ernst (R-IA) filed the Hemp Safety Enforcement Act, which would effectively let states opt out of the federal recriminalization of hemp THC products that is set to be enacted later this year. Ernst on Wednesday, however, withdrew her name as a cosponsor of the legislation.
Separately, anti-marijuana organizations filed a lawsuit suit against the Medicare hemp CBD coverage policy, and lawyers for Health and Human Services Sec. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and CMS Director Mehmet Oz recently filed a brief asking that the case be dismissed.
The White House Office of Management and Budget has also been holding a series of meetings about a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) CBD products enforcement policy.
FDA issued guidance making clear that it does not intend to interfere with implementation of the Medicare hemp-derived products coverage plan.
CMS separately finalized a rule that will allow coverage of some hemp products as specialized, non-primarily health-related benefits through Medicare Advantage plans.
As hemp products have become more popular with consumers, some large brands are attempting to get in on action.
Major retailer Target, for example, is expanding its participation in the hemp-derived THC beverage market. Last year, the company began a pilot program involving sales of cannabis drinks at 10 select stores in Minnesota. That apparently went well, and now the company has obtained licenses from Minnesota regulators to sell lower-potency hemp edible products—including THC drinks—at all 72 of its stores in the state.
A U.S. Department of Agriculture report published this month shows that farmers in the U.S. grew three-quarters of a billion dollars worth of hemp crops in 2025—a 64 percent increase from the prior year.
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