President Trump signed a funding bill this week to end the government shutdown — but Forbes and other industry observers say a hidden amendment in that legislation could upend the nation’s $28 billion hemp industry. The change rewrites the federal definition of hemp and, after a 12‑month grace period, would effectively outlaw most hemp‑derived THC products, including the fast‑growing market for THC beverages and edibles.

Since the 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp and its derivatives, intoxicating hemp products have spread nationwide, sold online and in mainstream stores without the regulatory limits applied to marijuana. The new amendment closes that gap by banning synthetic cannabinoid conversion (for example, CBD‑to‑THC processing) and imposing a THC cap of 0.4 mg per package — a threshold far below what nearly all current hemp products contain. Many products contain at least 5 mg per package, and some reach as high as 1,000 mg.

“This is an extinction‑level event for the CBD products industry, and the greater hemp and hemp beverage industry,” said Jim Higdon, cofounder of Louisville‑based Cornbread Hemp. “If we can’t stop it, and we don’t pivot, it will destroy our business. Every product that we make currently will become a Schedule I narcotic when it is implemented.”

Industry leaders — from beverage makers to multistate cannabis operators — warn the change would wipe out companies built around hemp‑derived THC and say they will lobby aggressively for revised rules during the one‑year window. The amendment has also sparked political friction: Senator Mitch McConnell, who helped lead the 2018 push to legalize hemp, is now spearheading efforts to restrict intoxicating hemp products amid growing worries about youth exposure.

“Mitch McConnell, the man who gave us the seeds to grow hemp, now wants to burn the crop and salt the ground,” said Thomas Winstanley, executive vice president of Georgia‑based Edibles.com. “[We see] it as not one year to ban, it’s one year to regulate. We do not see this as the end. The clock started, but there’s still runway for better policy here. It was a tough battle to lose, but it’s not the end of the war.”

For now, the amendment sets a steep deadline and a high stakes fight over the future of hemp‑derived THC products. Industry groups and lawmakers now face a year to shape how — or whether — the market survives.

This article was adapted from an original report published on tobaccoreporter.com. All rights belong to the original publisher.