Congress is banning many hemp products in December. Which ones will become illegal overnight?

Steve Helber/AP/File

Adrian Bruneau’s post-traumatic stress disorder sneaked up on him.

An aviator in the United States Marine Corps, Bruneau had been deployed in the Balkans in the 1990s and later in the Middle East. After finishing active service in 2006, he said, he was spun into a “maelstrom” of mental anguish and turned to alcohol and cocaine for relief. Then he discovered CBD (cannabidiol) gummies, and for the first time in a few years was able to get a full night’s sleep.

“You would be amazed at how restorative that is to the human body,” he told CNN. When THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) beverages started coming out, around 2018, they replaced alcohol for him. “It was life changing.”

Bruneau is a cofounder of the American Alternative Care Policy Network, a nonprofit organization that advocates for access to alternative healthcare therapies. He is among a contingent of people pushing back against a federal ban on many CBD and THC products set to go into effect December 11.

“We have a lot of veterans, first responders, frontline workers and trauma survivors that have integrated these products into their into their daily wellness routines,” said John R. Gordon, another AACPN cofounder. “Those products are going to disappear overnight.”

The so-called “hemp ban” does not apply to marijuana products sold through state-licensed medical or recreational dispensaries. But many CBD and THC gummies, oils, sodas and other products made from hemp plants will no longer be legal under federal law.

Botanically speaking, there’s not much difference between hemp and marijuana. Both terms refer to the cannabis plant. Marijuana contains more THC, which is the compound that produces a high. Products made from marijuana must be bought and sold through state-licensed programs.

For a crop to be considered hemp — as opposed to marijuana — it must contain no more than 0.3% THC by dry weight.

When Congress passed the 2018 Agriculture Improvement Act, also known as the farm bill, for the first time American farmers were legally allowed to grow hemp for many uses, including textiles, industrial uses and animal feed. The law also cleared the way for a range of products including food and beverages as well as skincare and salves infused with CBD and other cannabinoid compounds from the plant. Products containing CBD soon represented a multibillion-dollar market in the United States.

The 2018 farm bill hadn’t set up specific regulatory requirements for those products, and neither has the US Food and Drug Administration in the years since the law was passed. A large market of high-dose and synthetic THC products exploded, according to critics — including Kentucky Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell and parents concerned about their children accessing potentially dangerous gas station products .

This looming ban — slipped into a sweeping budget bill passed by Congress last year — was set to go into effect this November before a bipartisan coalition of senators managed to punt the deadline by a month, to December 11. The law bans selling any hemp product with more than a minuscule 0.4 milligrams of THC per container, effectively barring thousands of non-psychoactive gummies, tinctures, salves and beverages with trace amounts of THC. (Low-dose gummies or capsules might contain 1 to 3 milligrams per serving.)

While McConnell is the provision’s chief supporter, one of its biggest critics also hails from his state. Republican Sen. Rand Paul has called the change “the most thoughtless, ignorant proposal to an industry that I’ve seen in a long, long time.”

It puts hundreds of thousands of jobs and potentially tens of billions of dollars at risk, said Ronan Kennedy, CEO of cbdMD, a public company that sells CBD and THC products online and in some retailers and integrative healthcare practices.

Like many in the business, Kennedy welcomes laws that would restrict the proliferation of dangerous synthetics and create a legal pathway for sale.

“It’s possible to make regulations to keep people safe without enacting a total prohibition on the entire plant,” said Marie La France, cofounder of Louie Louie hemp seltzers in New Orleans.

There is bipartisan support for better hemp regulation. Paul teamed up with Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat, on a bill this year that would essentially let states opt out of the ban. In the House, Republicans and Democrats in states like Texas and Virginia have partnered on bills proposing more flexible regulations. Another extension of the December deadline is not out of the question.

Some in the alcohol and marijuana industries support an imminent ban with further regulation down the line.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

With a few exceptions, there are not officially approved medical uses for CBD and THC, but people use them for a range of potential benefits — chief among them, gummies for sleep. Some take CBD for stress management, and people are increasingly turning to edibles and drinks with THC as an alternative to alcohol .

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images/File

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Some people find hemp products helpful for arthritis pain . Many with chronic pain conditions rely on topical and edible CBD for daily relief or to manage flareups after trying “countless treatments without success,” said Nicole Hemmenway, the CEO of the U.S. Pain Foundation. John Schwam, a former volunteer firefighter in New York, told CNN he uses cannabis concentrates to quell chronic mucus buildup and neuropathic tingling he has dealt with since working at Ground Zero after the September 11, 2001, terror attacks.

Parents across the country rely on CBD to treat their children’s epilepsy when conventional medications fail to stop their seizures.

There is a theory that the various components of the cannabis plant work together and some evidence that that “full-spectrum” products — meaning those which comprise all the plant’s natural cannabinoids, including THC — are most effective for treating pain and inflammation . “For some, full-spectrum CBD has become one of the few things that’s made a difference in their lives,” Hemmenway said.

Full-spectrum products typically have very low amounts of THC per serving and are not intoxicating.

While people using these products to treat life-altering PTSD, painful arthritis or epileptic seizures may weigh the costs against the benefits, it’s good to know what those costs can be.

Cannabis impairs cognitive functioning and can be particularly detrimental to young brains that are still developing. Though many people take CBD or THC for insomnia, evidence shows that cannabis may harm sleep rather than help it. For some people, cannabis use causes severe vomiting .

Using THC during pregnancy is associated with higher risk of preterm birth, low birth weight and babies being admitted to intensive care. Poison control centers across the country have fielded thousands of calls about kids who have ingested cannabis edibles.

And as cannabis has proliferated, cannabis use disorder has risen sharply , especially among those who use it daily or weekly . People who use higher potency products are more likely to experience addiction and mental health outcomes.

Any hemp-derived product that contains a total of more than 0.4 milligrams of THC per container will be classified as a Schedule I narcotic. That classification includes drinks and edibles made from hemp, many of which have 2.5 milligrams, 5 milligrams, 10 milligrams or more per serving.

The 0.4 milligram limit effectively bans all edibles, tinctures and capsules that are “full spectrum,” meaning they comprise all the plant’s natural cannabinoids, including THC.

Still, it is virtually impossible to make a full-spectrum product that contains less than 0.4 milligrams in an entire bottle or box, said Bill Morachnick, CEO of Charlotte’s Web, a publicly traded CBD company that pioneered the use of hemp oil as a treatment for seizures. Such products are “collateral damage” in the ban, he said.

The ban also applies to CBD products that were recently made available to seniors through a new Medicare program .

The legislation also targets products containing synthetic cannabinoids. That includes delta-8 THC and delta-10 THC, which exist in trace amounts in the hemp plant, but are commercially manufactured to make high-potency products. Products with synthetic cannabinoids — often found in gas stations and smoke shops — are banned effective November 12.

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If you currently buy CBD or THC products at a licensed marijuana dispensary, nothing will change, since those products are made from marijuana, not hemp. Otherwise, check the package. It should say how much of each cannabinoid the product contains. If the amount of THC in the whole package is greater than 0.4 milligrams, it will be taken off the consumer market once the ban goes into effect.

If the product is described as “full spectrum,” it will almost certainly fall into this category. Products labeled “broad spectrum” contain no or only trace amounts of THC. It is possible that some of these may not be affected, but even trace amounts add up, said Shawn Hauser, a partner at Vicente, a Denver-based law firm that specializes in cannabis law and policy. “A standard 30 milliliter bottle of tincture or a multipack of gummies easily contains several milligrams of total THC across the whole package,” she said.

Where you live matters, too. If you live in a state with medicinal or recreational marijuana, you may be able to find your preferred products at a licensed dispensary. If your state has its own hemp program, you may still be able to find them at licensed retailers or order them online. Consumers “have to be very educated,” Hauser said.

史蒂夫·赫尔伯/美联社/档案照片

阿德里安·布鲁诺的创伤后应激障碍悄然袭来。

布鲁诺曾是美国海军陆战队的一名飞行员，上世纪90年代曾在巴尔干半岛服役，后来又被派往中东。他表示，2006年退役后，他陷入了精神痛苦的“漩涡”，开始酗酒吸食可卡因以求解脱。后来，他发现了CBD（大麻二酚）软糖，几年来第一次睡了个好觉。

“你会惊讶于它对人体有多么大的恢复作用，”他告诉CNN。大约在2018年，当含有四氢大麻酚（THC）的饮料开始出现时，它们就取代了他的酒精。“这改变了我的生活。”

布鲁诺是美国替代医疗政策网络的联合创始人，该非营利组织致力于倡导人们获得替代医疗疗法。他与其他人一起反对一项将于12月11日生效的联邦禁令，该禁令将禁止销售多种CBD和THC产品。

“我们有很多退伍军人、急救人员、一线工作者和创伤幸存者，他们已经将这些产品融入到日常健康生活中，”AACPN的另一位联合创始人约翰·R·戈登说。“这些产品一夜之间就会消失。”

所谓的“大麻禁令”并不适用于通过州政府许可的医用或娱乐用大麻药房销售的大麻产品。但根据联邦法律，许多由大麻植物制成的CBD和THC软糖、油、苏打水和其他产品将不再合法。

从植物学角度来看，大麻和工业大麻并没有太大区别。这两个词都指大麻植物。大麻含有更多的四氢大麻酚（THC），THC是产生“嗨”感的化合物。用大麻制成的产品必须通过州政府许可的项目进行买卖。

要将某种作物认定为工业大麻（而非大麻），其干重中 THC 含量不得超过 0.3%。

2018年，美国国会通过了《农业改进法案》（也称农业法案），首次合法允许美国农民种植大麻，其用途广泛，包括纺织品、工业产品和动物饲料。该法案还为一系列产品铺平了道路，这些产品包括食品、饮料、护肤品和药膏等，其中添加了CBD和其他大麻素化合物。含CBD的产品很快在美国形成了一个价值数十亿美元的市场。

2018年的农业法案并未对这些产品设定具体的监管要求，自该法案通过以来，美国食品药品监督管理局（FDA）也未制定相关规定。批评人士指出，高剂量和合成THC产品的市场迅速扩张，其中包括肯塔基州共和党参议员米奇·麦康奈尔以及担心孩子会接触到加油站潜在危险产品的家长。

这项即将生效的禁令——去年被悄悄塞进国会通过的一项全面预算案中——原定于今年11月生效，但一个由两党参议员组成的联盟设法将生效日期推迟了一个月，至12月11日。该法律禁止销售任何每容器四氢大麻酚（THC）含量超过0.4毫克的大麻产品，实际上禁止销售数千种含有微量THC的非精神活性软糖、酊剂、药膏和饮料。（低剂量软糖或胶囊每份可能含有1至3毫克THC。）

虽然麦康奈尔是这项条款的主要支持者，但其最大的批评者之一也来自他的州。共和党参议员兰德·保罗称这项改变是“我很久以来见过的最轻率、最无知的行业提案”。

cbdMD 首席执行官 Ronan Kennedy 表示，这将使数十万个工作岗位和数百亿美元的损失面临风险。cbdMD 是一家上市公司，在线上以及一些零售商和综合医疗保健机构销售 CBD 和 THC 产品。

与业内许多人一样，肯尼迪欢迎那些能够限制危险合成物扩散并为销售创造合法途径的法律。

“我们可以制定法规来保障人们的安全，而无需完全禁止这种植物，”新奥尔良 Louie Louie 大麻苏打水的联合创始人 Marie La France 说。

两党都支持加强大麻监管。今年，保罗与明尼苏达州民主党参议员艾米·克洛布查尔合作提出了一项法案，该法案实际上允许各州选择退出禁令。在众议院，来自德克萨斯州和弗吉尼亚州等州的共和党人和民主党人也合作提出了旨在提供更灵活监管的法案。再次延长12月的最后期限并非不可能。

一些酒类和娱乐用大麻行业的人士支持立即实施禁令，并期待未来能有更严格的监管。

贾斯汀·沙利文/盖蒂图片社

除少数例外情况外，CBD和THC目前尚无官方批准的医疗用途，但人们使用它们是为了获得一系列潜在益处——其中最主要的是，CBD软糖有助于睡眠。有些人服用CBD来缓解压力，而越来越多的人开始选择含有THC的食品和饮料来代替酒精。

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images/文件

美国司法部将州政府许可的医用大麻重新归类为危险性较低的药物。

有些人发现大麻制品有助于缓解关节炎疼痛。美国疼痛基金会首席执行官妮可·赫门威表示，许多慢性疼痛患者在尝试过“无数种疗法都无效”后，依赖外用和食用CBD产品来缓解日常疼痛或控制病情发作。约翰·施瓦姆曾是纽约的一名志愿消防员，他告诉CNN，自2001年9月11日恐怖袭击事件后在世贸中心遗址工作以来，他一直饱受慢性粘液积聚和神经性刺痛的困扰，并一直使用大麻浓缩物来缓解这些症状。

当传统药物无法阻止癫痫发作时，全国各地的父母都依赖 CBD 来治疗孩子的癫痫。

有一种理论认为，大麻植物的各种成分协同作用，并且有证据表明，“全谱”产品——即包含植物所有天然大麻素（包括THC）的产品——在治疗疼痛和炎症方面最为有效。“对一些人来说，全谱CBD已成为少数真正改善他们生活的产品之一，”Hemmenway说道。

全谱产品通常每份含有极低的 THC 含量，不会产生致幻作用。

使用这些产品治疗改变人生的创伤后应激障碍、疼痛性关节炎或癫痫发作的人们可能会权衡利弊，但了解这些代价是什么也是有益的。

大麻会损害认知功能，尤其对仍在发育的青少年大脑危害更大。虽然许多人服用CBD或THC来治疗失眠，但有证据表明，大麻可能对睡眠有害而非有益。对某些人来说，使用大麻会导致严重的呕吐。

孕期使用THC会增加早产、低出生体重以及婴儿需要入住重症监护室的风险。全国各地的中毒控制中心已接到数千起关于儿童误食大麻食品的求助电话。

随着大麻的普及，大麻使用障碍的发生率也急剧上升，尤其是在那些每天或每周使用大麻的人群中。使用高浓度大麻产品的人更容易出现成瘾和心理健康问题。

任何每容器中THC含量超过0.4毫克的工业大麻衍生产品都将被归类为一级管制药品。该类别包括用工业大麻制成的饮料和食品，其中许多每份含有2.5毫克、5毫克、10毫克或更多的THC。

0.4 毫克的限制实际上禁止了所有“全谱”的食用产品、酊剂和胶囊，这意味着它们包含植物的所有天然大麻素，包括 THC。

不过，夏洛特之网（Charlotte's Web）首席执行官比尔·莫拉尼克（Bill Morachnick）表示，要生产出每瓶或每盒CBD含量低于0.4毫克的全谱产品几乎是不可能的。夏洛特之网是一家上市的CBD公司，率先将大麻油用于治疗癫痫。他表示，这类产品是禁令的“附带损害”。

该禁令也适用于最近通过一项新的医疗保险计划向老年人提供的 CBD 产品。

该法案还针对含有合成大麻素的产品。这包括Δ-8 THC和Δ-10 THC，它们在工业大麻植物中含量极低，但会被人工合成以生产高浓度产品。含有合成大麻素的产品——通常在加油站和烟草店出售——将于11月12日起被禁止销售。

奥姆帕德等人。药物酒精依赖性 2022

这些包装袋看起来像常见的薯片或糖果，但里面的东西可能会伤害儿童。

如果您目前在持证的大麻药房购买 CBD 或 THC 产品，则不会有任何变化，因为这些产品是由大麻而非工业大麻制成的。否则，请查看包装。包装上应该会标明每种大麻素的含量。如果整个包装中 THC 的含量超过 0.4 毫克，则在禁令生效后，该产品将从消费市场下架。

如果产品被描述为“全谱”，那么它几乎肯定属于这一类。标有“广谱”的产品不含或仅含微量四氢大麻酚 (THC)。丹佛一家专门从事大麻法律和政策的律师事务所 Vicente 的合伙人肖恩·豪瑟 (Shawn Hauser) 表示，虽然其中一些产品可能不受影响，但即使是微量成分也会累积起来。“一瓶标准的 30 毫升酊剂或一包多包装的软糖，很容易就含有几毫克的 THC，”她说。

居住地也很重要。如果你所在的州允许医用或娱乐用大麻，你或许可以在持证药房找到你想要的产品。如果你的州有自己的工业大麻项目，你仍然可以在持证零售商处找到它们，或者在线订购。豪瑟说，消费者“必须非常了解相关知识”。