The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a federal spending bill that delays sweeping restrictions on hemp-derived THC products by one month, sending the measure to President Donald Trump, who is expected to quickly sign it into law. The final vote was 370 to 48.
The House approved H.R. 6500, the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027, after the Senate passed the measure 90 to 6 on August 8. The continuing resolution funds the federal government through December 11 and moves the effective date of the new federal hemp restrictions from November 12 to December 11.
The restrictions were enacted as part of a federal spending law signed in November 2025 and significantly narrow the federal definition of hemp. Among other changes, the law moves from a delta-9 THC standard to a total THC standard, excludes certain synthesized cannabinoids and sets a limit of 0.4 milligrams of total THC and similarly acting cannabinoids per container for final hemp-derived cannabinoid products.
Products that fall outside the revised definition of hemp could instead be treated as marijuana under the federal Controlled Substances Act.
The one-month delay became a significant point of contention as the spending measure moved through Congress. During Senate consideration, lawmakers voted 61 to 32 to table an amendment that would have removed the delay and allowed the restrictions to take effect November 12 as originally scheduled.
The delay faced additional opposition from some House Republicans, including Representative Andy Harris of Maryland, who has argued that the restrictions should be allowed to take effect without postponement. The House’s passage of the Senate-approved bill without removing the provision clears the way for the delay to become law.
The Trump administration has already endorsed the legislation. In an August 3 Statement of Administration Policy, the White House said it supported the Senate amendment to H.R. 6500 and that if the legislation reached the president in its current form, his senior advisers would recommend that he sign it.
Trump is therefore expected to sign the measure quickly, formally pushing the hemp restrictions back to December 11.
The delay does not repeal or substantially alter the underlying restrictions. Instead, it gives lawmakers and the hemp industry roughly another month to pursue a longer-term regulatory solution before the new federal definition is scheduled to take effect.
