Last week →  Three AGs sue to block rescheduling — what changes now

Congress blocked the hemp rescue — the November ban still stands.

The House Rules Committee just blocked the amendments that would have saved hemp THC from federal recriminalization. Three Republicans — led by Rep. Andy Barr of Kentucky — filed amendments to agriculture legislation to stop the November ban on intoxicating hemp products. On June 3 the Rules Committee declined to make them in order, keeping them off the floor. The same day, the White House publicly urged Congress to amend the ban to preserve hemp CBD. Net effect: the November 12 cutover — a "total THC" hemp definition that counts THCA and delta-8, plus a 0.4 mg total-THC-per-container cap on finished products — remains on track, and the cleanest legislative off-ramp just closed. Operators selling gummies, beverages, vapes, or THCA flower now have roughly five months to reformulate, sell through, or pivot to state channels.

Why it matters: This was the most viable path to stop November's recriminalization, and it just closed. Operators counting on a legislative reprieve before the 0.4 mg per-container cap takes effect now have to plan as if the ban lands on schedule: reformulation, inventory sell-through, and state-channel pivots all move up the calendar. The White House's parallel push to amend the ban signals executive appetite to soften it — but appetite is not enacted law.

On June 3 the House Rules Committee declined to make in order the amendments filed June 1 by three Republican members, including Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY), keeping them off the floor. Barr's amendment would have preserved many currently-legal hemp products while adding labeling requirements and new taxes. The underlying ban — enacted in H.R. 5371 and effective in November — redefines hemp by total THC (inclusive of THCA and delta-8) and caps finished products at 0.4 mg total THC per container. Standalone bill H.R. 7024, which would delay the recriminalization, reached 36 cosponsors.

Why it matters: The April 23 Schedule III reclassification just produced its first marquee capital-markets consequence. A listing on a major U.S. exchange widens access to institutional capital, improves liquidity, and signals a mainstreaming that pressures peers already restructuring to follow (Verano and Vireo both announced reverse splits this period). For operators, it's a marker of how quickly rescheduling is reshaping the financing landscape — and of the governance and disclosure bar a public-exchange listing now sets.

Trulieve announced June 5 that the NYSE approved its subordinate voting shares for listing under the ticker "TRLV," with trading expected to begin June 10, 2026. CEO Kim Rivers credited the federal Schedule III reclassification for making the milestone possible. The shares continue trading on the Canadian Securities Exchange ("TRUL") and OTCQX ("TCNNF") until the close of June 9; existing shareholders need take no action.

Why it matters: Any operator selling HHC is now exposed to a live federal classification dispute. If the DEA's reading holds, HHC products face Schedule I treatment; if the companies prevail, HHC stays in the federally legal hemp lane — at least until the November total-THC cutover reshuffles the whole question.

Two hemp companies filed lawsuits challenging the DEA's claim that hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) is a Schedule I controlled substance, arguing the agency is defying Congress by treating a hemp-derived cannabinoid as illegal. The cases were reported June 3.

Why it matters: The litigation overhang on the April 23 Schedule III order is widening, not narrowing. A second challenge from a different coalition adds a parallel track that operators must factor into §280E posture and DEA-registration timing — even as one of the original state plaintiffs steps back.

A coalition of prohibitionist activists, substance-misuse professionals, doctors, and a cannabis-focused biopharmaceutical company filed a new lawsuit on June 2 seeking to stop the rescheduling. Separately, Louisiana AG Liz Murrill withdrew from the petition she had jointly filed with Indiana and Nebraska, leaving two states on that challenge. The DEA's broader-rescheduling hearing is still set to begin June 29, with the participant roster to be finalized around June 22.

Why it matters: For operators with DOT-regulated drivers, rescheduling changes nothing about workplace testing. A congressional directive removes any ambiguity: federal testing of commercial drivers for marijuana continues regardless of the Schedule III move.

A congressional committee directed federal agencies to keep testing commercial truck drivers for marijuana, foreclosing the argument that rescheduling would relax DOT/FMCSA testing obligations.

Why it matters: This is a near-term, hard deadline. Any business selling — or shipping into — Tennessee has until July 1 to clear THCA and other hemp-derived cannabinoid inventory. It also signals the total-THC enforcement trend marching state by state ahead of the federal November cutover.

Tennessee's newly finalized rules make it illegal to sell THCA and other hemp-derived cannabinoid products beginning July 1, 2026. The Department of Revenue separately published updated guidance on vapor-product terminology and tax administration for inhalable hemp-derived cannabinoid products on May 28.

Why it matters: Iowa loosens one of the country's more restrictive medical programs, opening capacity and cross-border patient access. New dispensary licenses mean new market entry and siting opportunities.

Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) signed a bill doubling the number of medical cannabis dispensaries that can be licensed and allowing out-of-state residents to register if they hold a certification from an Iowa healthcare provider.

Why it matters: Hospital and long-term-care access is a recurring compliance gap for medical programs. Pennsylvania's move — mirrored by a Louisiana measure now taking effect — expands where patients can legally use medical cannabis and creates new policy obligations for healthcare facilities.

The Pennsylvania House passed a bill allowing terminally ill patients to use medical cannabis in hospitals, long-term care nursing facilities, assisted living residences, and other healthcare settings. Louisiana enacted a similar terminally-ill hospital-access measure after Gov. Jeff Landry (R) allowed it to take effect without his signature.

Why it matters: Federal Schedule III does not automatically follow into every state. Wyoming is a live example of state-federal divergence: operators cannot assume the federal move changes the state schedule, and must track each state's response individually.

Wyoming AG Keith Kautz (R) issued a formal "objection" to rescheduling marijuana under state law, blocking a state-law policy that would otherwise have been automatically triggered by the federal reclassification — keeping cannabis at a stricter state schedule.

Why it matters: Oklahoma's illicit-grow crackdown continues to escalate. Licensed operators benefit from enforcement against unlicensed competitors, but the heightened task-force activity also raises scrutiny across the market.

Oklahoma's attorney general touted enforcement actions as an organized-crime task force raided two Oklahoma City locations tied to unlicensed marijuana operations.

Why it matters: For exporters and multinational CBD operators, this is a useful authority. A letter from the UN's International Narcotics Control Board states CBD is not covered by the international drug treaties and that extraction of uncontrolled cannabinoids falls under industrial hemp — a position that can support legality arguments in jurisdictions that defer to the treaty framework.

The International Narcotics Control Board sent a little-noticed letter, surfaced this week, concluding that CBD is not subject to international control and that the extraction of uncontrolled cannabinoids belongs to the industrial-hemp category.

Otherwise a light international week. Germany's CanG medical framework remains under Bundestag expert review. Fuller international coverage resumes when the next material development lands.

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With the November federal cutover now locked on track, the most useful operator read this week is our own compliance guide to the 0.4 mg total-THC-per-container cap — what counts toward the limit, how the "total THC" definition pulls in THCA and delta-8, and the reformulation math you need before November. Read the summary →

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