By Coalition Releases Election Guide With Hemp Questions
The Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) is urging voters to ask U.S. House and Senate candidates about their positions on hemp THC products ahead of the November elections. The group included two questions about the issue in its 2026 Congressional Election Guide.
The guide covers a range of drug policy topics the organization wants federal candidates asked about, including prevention, treatment, e-cigarettes and kratom. The hemp questions are aimed at congressional candidates specifically.
The first question asks whether candidates support excluding products containing intoxicating amounts of cannabinoids from the federal definition of hemp. It notes that hemp products include a rapidly changing range of cannabinoids and formulations that can be modified or reengineered as laws change.
The second question asks whether candidates support allowing already enacted changes to the federal definition of hemp to take effect without further delays. Those changes are scheduled to take effect in November 2026 and would remove most intoxicating hemp products from convenience stores, smoke shops, grocery stores and online.
CADCA has advocated on the issue before, having led a sign-on letter in 2024 pressing Congress to ban intoxicating hemp products. The group has also previously worked to oppose bills to federally legalize marijuana and to ease cannabis businesses’ access to banking services.
Legal Timeline Behind The Questions
Hemp derivatives with less than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC on a dry-weight basis were federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill, which Trump signed during his first term. Late last year, he signed new legislation redefining hemp so that only products with 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container would remain legal.
Under a funding bill Trump signed this month, the effective date of the ban for most products is being pushed back to December 11. The delay is intended to give lawmakers more time to craft regulations for hemp derivatives.
There is a carve-out allowing the recriminalization on November 12 of synthetic cannabinoids “that are not capable of being naturally produced by a Cannabis sativa L. plant.”
The second question in the guide is somewhat moot now that Trump has signed the legislation delaying most parts of the ban past November. The group may still be wondering whether candidates would support moving the effective date even further.
Trump and White House officials repeatedly pressed Congress to delay, alter or reverse the ban in recent months.
Lawmakers Weigh Regulation Versus Prohibition
Members of Congress are debating how, and whether, the crop’s derivatives should be regulated as an alternative to prohibition. Several Republican lawmakers recently spoke to Marijuana Moment about the kinds of rules they would like to see enacted to keep hemp THC products legal.
Reps. Beth Van Duyne (R-TX) and Greg Landsman (D-OH) filed a bill to keep hemp THC drinks legal while taxing and regulating them like alcohol. Rep. James Comer (R-KY), who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, is circulating legislation that would delay the planned federal ban and institute regulations including packaging requirements, testing rules and age limits.
