The United States is less than eight months away from prohibiting most hemp-derived THC products, and the 2026 Farm Bill doesn’t include language to delay that implementation.
Instead, the House Committee on Agriculture advanced the 800-plus page bill earlier this month to tighten the definition of a hemp plant to include a 0.3% total THC (including THCA) pre-harvest test, altering language from the 2018 Farm Bill’s delta-9 THC threshold that’s often cited as the “loophole” that allowed intoxicating hemp products to overtake shelf spaces nationwide.
This storyline captured the No. 1 spot as Cannabis Business Times’ most-read article in March, with stakeholders in both the hemp and cannabis industries not wanting to miss out on the potential consequences of legislative changes in Washington.
“A comprehensive regulatory framework for these products falls outside the jurisdiction of this committee,” Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Pa., said before members voted, 34-17, to advance the 2026 Farm Bill legislation. Instead of addressing finished goods in the Agriculture Committee, Thompson urged the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to “engage promptly on this issue.”
Taking the No. 2 spot in this month’s most-read articles was a piece on Virginia House and Senate lawmakers agreeing on legislation to commence licensed adult-use dispensary sales in January 2027, sending the bill to Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s desk nearly five years after the state legalized adult-use possession.
“It creates a licensed structure, consumer protections and a tax framework that allows the commonwealth to move from an illicit market to a regulated and safer system,” said Del. Paul Krizek, D-Fairfax, who sponsored the bill in the House.
Spanberger is expected to sign the bill in the coming days.
In the No. 3 spot this month was an article on the Florida Supreme Court’s refusal to review a lawsuit that was initiated over nearly 71,000 invalidated signatures for the state’s adult-use legalization campaign, effectively killing the initiative petition’s chances of landing on the November 2026 ballot.
“No motion for rehearing will be entertained by the court,” five justices concurred.
In the meantime, seven other states still have the opportunity to legalize cannabis in 2026, including Idaho, where activists are currently making positive headway in their signature-gathering efforts for a medical cannabis proposal. That state-by-state analysis landed in the No. 4 spot this month.
Don’t miss out on the rest of our Top 10 stories from March 2026.
