Monday, May 12th
November 12 is coming faster than you think
Despite the seeming "pro-hemp" tack the current White House administration has taken, one clause inserted in the last approved spending bill could be bad news for the hemp industry. P.L. 119-37 sets a hard limit 0.4mg per container cap on total THC, affecting hemp brands in all categories who use any added THC or full-spectrum hemp. At midnight on November 12, 2026, if you're selling a 2mg, 5mg or 10mg hemp beverage right now, your product becomes non-compliant in six months. Some brands are banking on Congress pushing the date or changing the rule in the next 6 months. Maybe they will. But "maybe Congress will fix it" is not a business plan. The brands that survive this are the ones making contingency plans right now: reformulate, pivot to cannabis licensing in key states, or risk having to exit the industry completely. A lot can change politically between now and November but, for now, the cliff is real. Plan accordingly.
Saturday, May 24th
SAM's lawsuit got tossed. That's the good news. Here's the better news.
Last Thursday, Judge McFadden threw out SAM's lawsuit challenging the CMS hemp-CBD pilot program. Standing. They couldn't show they were actually harmed by seniors having access to hemp products through Medicare. "Each claims an injury too abstract or too remote to open the courtroom doors." Case dismissed before anybody even argued the merits. And that's the part worth paying attention to. This wasn't a ruling that said hemp-derived CBD is safe, or that the CMS program is legally bulletproof. The court never got that far. It said SAM doesn't have the right to bring this fight at all. For an organization that has made "protecting public health" its entire brand, being told you can't even demonstrate a concrete injury from a hemp wellness program is a devastating credibility hit. Not on the science. Not on the policy. On whether you're even a real stakeholder in this conversation. Could they appeal? Sure. Could someone with actual standing bring a better case? Theoretically. But the precedent is set: ideological opposition to cannabinoids isn't an injury. You need skin in the game. And for every hemp and cannabis beverage brand watching from the sidelines, that's the signal that matters. The legal environment is getting harder to attack from the outside, not easier.
Legal
Just Chill
Giant
