Funding Bill Quietly Smokes Out American Cannabis

As Washington flicked the lights back on, it ashed out cannabis with the other hand. After broad legalization in 2018, Congress tucked a new restriction into this year’s funding bill that says every package must contain less than 0.4 mg of THC. Industry leaders warn this “quiet cap” could wipe out 95% of the $28B market and put over 300K jobs at risk, leaving farmers, brands, and states scrambling for a lifeline.

• The US Hemp Roundtable’s general counsel calls this “a total, all-out, complete ban on hemp products” — as most gummies, drinks, and vapes contain between 2.5–10 mg of THC.
• If Congress doesn’t revisit the rule before the one-year countdown kicks in, insiders expect sweeping layoffs, black-market growth, and millions in lost state tax revenue.

Puff, puff, passed bill: While shares of TilrayTLRY

, CronosCRON

, and OrganigramOGI

dipped Friday, analysts say smaller brands will likely bear the brunt — paving the way for larger players to snap up market share. Industry groups urge Congress to swap sweeping bans for strict federal rules, as momentum builds for reclassifying cannabis as a Schedule III drug. Unless lawmakers light a new way forward, Main Street’s hemp hopes could simply go up in smoke.