“Protecting minors and preventing children’s access to hemp products is central to the public interest and to the long-term credibility of the hemp industry,” according to Congressional findings in a newly drafted U.S. hemp bill aimed at sorting out the CBD sector.
The measure, proposed by Kentucky Rep. Andy Barr, a Republican, could protect mainstream wellness CBD commerce while squeezing out the illicit intoxicating hemp market that grew out of the 2018 Farm Bill loophole.
It would create legal silos for CBD, but leave the ultimate decision of which hemp-derived products live, shrink or disappear up to Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The FDA would likely set THC potency limits to eliminate unregulated synthetic intoxicants made from CBD, while, hopefully, shielding so-called CBD wellness products – oils, tinctures, capsules, gummies, beverages and topicals already widely sold.
The Barr proposal
The Barr proposal, the Lawful Hemp Protection Act, would create clear channels for ingestible, inhaled, topical and sublingual CBD products, impose labeling and registration requirements, establish domestic sourcing rules, and require the FDA to set per-serving limits – all in an effort to preserve legitimate CBD brands, farmers and processors tied to cannabinoid extraction.
Findings introducing the measure note that many Americans — including veterans and seniors — depend on hemp products for wellness, and that consistent manufacturing, accurate labeling and domestic sourcing are essential to consumer protection and public trust.
“Clear provenance standards and the elimination of deceptive or lookalike products promote responsible industry growth, protect consumers, and reinforce confidence in lawful hemp commerce,” the findings showed.
‘Adulterated’
Taking a hard line on intoxicating hemp, the proposed law would classify as adulterated any product containing substances made synthetically or not derived from hemp extracts — targeting lab-converted compounds like delta-8 THC.
Critically, the draft leaves THC potency limits to the FDA, which, given current federal politics, child-safety concerns, and the backlash against unregulated gas-station THC treats, would likely start conservative. That means low caps that squeeze out most intoxicating hemp consumables while leaving room for low- or no-THC CBD wellness products to survive.
The bill would also order the FDA to formally identify naturally occurring cannabinoids and THC-class cannabinoids, another sign lawmakers want to distinguish plant-derived compounds from lab-created intoxicants.
Giving state options
A second bill, the Hemp Safety Enforcement Act, introduced in the Senate by Kentucky Republican Rand Paul, Minnesota Democrat Amy Klobuchar, and Iowa Republican Joni Ernst, would indirectly protect wellness CBD through state choice.
Instead of imposing federal controls, it would allow states and tribes to operate their own CBD wellness markets, especially existing programs built around compliant ingestibles. For intoxicating hemp made from CBD, treatment would vary sharply by jurisdiction: some states could continue regulated delta-8/THC hemp markets, others could ban them outright.
Both measures are responses to the Agriculture, Rural Development, FDA, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2026, signed in November 2025, which effectively redrew the legal definition of hemp and targeted intoxicating products through statutory thresholds rather than a consumer regulatory model.