Last week →  Texas just recriminalized delta-8 — and Virginia's next

The Senate moved the hemp cliff to December 11 — synthetics still fall in November.

On August 8, the Senate passed a government funding bill, 90 to 6, that would delay most of the federal hemp recriminalization from November 12 to December 11. An amendment from Sen. Ted Budd to keep the ban on schedule — backed by fourteen cosponsors — was tabled 61 to 32 after the White House lobbied against it. The delay carries a sharp edge: cannabinoids that cannot be naturally produced by the cannabis plant are still recriminalized on November 12, a carve-out that reaches most commercial HHC and other converted products. And none of it is law yet. The House passed its own funding bill in June with no hemp language, so the two chambers have to reconcile before money runs out September 30. Operators now plan against two clocks — and a White House that reportedly promised Senate Republicans there will be no third. Texas showed what the cutover looks like in practice. How Texas ran the drill →

Why it matters: A Senate vote is not a statute. The House's June funding bill contains no hemp language, so the December 11 date only exists if a reconciled bill passes both chambers before September 30. Until then, November 12 remains the legally operative deadline — keep inventory triage, COA re-verification and sell-through plans running against the earlier date, and treat December 11 as upside, not baseline.

The Senate passed the continuing resolution 90–6 on August 8 after tabling the Budd amendment 61–32. A bipartisan coalition of 35 state attorneys general urged Congress to keep the ban in place, and the Senate separately failed to advance the 2026 Farm Bill — closing off the other legislative vehicle for a permanent hemp fix this fall. White House legislative staff reportedly committed to Senate Republicans that there will be no further extensions beyond December 11.

Why it matters: Payment rails are de-risking a month ahead of the statute — and Square would not commit to reversing course even if Congress delays the ban. For thousands of CBD and hemp retailers, the binding compliance deadline is now a private one: October 15, regardless of what the House does. Line up alternative processing now, and read any new agreement's total-THC policy before signing. Talk to your counsel.

In an email obtained by Marijuana Moment on August 7, Square told merchants that selling CBD and hemp-derived products "online or in person" will no longer be permitted, and directed them to remove those items from catalogs by October 15, 2026, citing the federal law change. Square Loan balances and terms are unaffected. The company previously marketed its services to CBD sellers; that page has been taken down.

Why it matters: August 17 is the last scheduled filing date in the DEA's expedited hearing on rescheduling all cannabis — after the briefs, the record closes and the recommended decision follows. State-legal medical cannabis moved to Schedule III in April; everything else still rides on this proceeding. Keep §280E relief unbooked until a final rule survives review. Talk to your counsel.

Under Chief ALJ Julius's July 16 order, post-hearing briefs carrying closing arguments are due no later than August 17, 2026. The expedited hearing on broader rescheduling opened June 29 and has concluded testimony; the April 23 final order covering state-legal medical cannabis and FDA-approved products remains in effect.

Why it matters: Unless a federal judge intervenes this week, August 15 is the operative date: the 25:1 CBD-to-THC exemption disappears and every hemp product over 2 mg total THC per package becomes unsellable in Virginia — the strictest cap in the country, enforced by the AG's new Regulated Products Enforcement Unit. Finish SKU audits and sell-through now; a court save is possible but not a plan.

Seven hemp businesses filed suit July 31 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia, alleging Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment violations — arguing they were given roughly six weeks to restructure with millions in inventory at stake — and asked for a preliminary injunction. No ruling had issued as of Saturday.

Why it matters: One of the largest unregulated hemp THC markets on the East Coast just bought itself three months. The conference bill isn't dead — law enforcement still backs it — but the postponement means NC's state timetable now trails the federal one, and whatever Congress enacts by December will frame the November debate in Raleigh. Retailers get breathing room, not certainty.

On August 4, House leaders said the chamber will not vote on the negotiated hemp restriction bill until November, after hundreds of hemp advocates filled the legislative building's hallways during session.

Why it matters: New York's microbusinesses — the all-in-one cultivate-process-retail license — can now run "cannabis showcase events" at farmers' markets and pop-ups without demonstrating separate cultivator and processor partnerships. It is a genuine new sales channel for small operators heading into harvest season, and it took effect on signing. OCM event rules still apply; check them before booking a stall.

Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the bill August 6. It clarifies that licensed microbusinesses and dispensaries may sell at showcase events and lets a properly licensed operator fill the cultivator, processor and retailer roles alone — closing a red-tape gap regulators first flagged in 2023.

Why it matters: Thailand's retreat from its 2022 open market is entering its legislative endgame. The draft Cannabis Control Act would lock in the medical-and-licensing model the ministerial regulations already sketched this spring — with high-THC extract licenses restricted to Thai entities. Exporters and foreign-invested operators should assume the restrictive framework hardens, not softens, from here.

The traditional-medicine department submitted the completed draft — renamed from the Cannabis and Hemp Act — to the public health minister on July 20; Cabinet approval in principle comes next, with parliamentary consideration expected January 2027 at the earliest. Ministerial regulations effective since spring already limit extracts above 0.2% THC to licensed medical, research and industrial channels.

A quiet week on the international desk — fuller coverage resumes as material lands.

Every deadline in this issue — November 12, December 11, Virginia's 2 mg cap — ultimately turns on total-THC math, and THCA is where that math surprises people. Our new guide walks the legal difference between THCA and THC: why the same flower can be legal hemp at the farm and marijuana at the lab, and what the total-THC standard changes. Read the summary →