Congress is trying to stop the federal hemp ban that takes effect November 12. The bill getting attention this week doesn’t actually protect the THCA flower you buy from us.
We’ve covered this fight since 2025. Here’s what’s actually in the new bill, why it falls short specifically for flower, and what you can do about it while it’s still being written.
What’s In the Bill
On July 22, Representatives Andy Barr (R-KY) and Angie Craig (D-MN) introduced the Lawful Hemp Protection Act. It would repeal the 0.4-milligram-per-container standard set to take effect this November and replace it with a hemp definition allowing up to 1% total THC on a dry-weight basis. It also adds testing requirements at ISO-accredited labs, a QR code linking to lab results on every product, a 21+ purchase age, a ban on marketing to kids, and a rule that anything sold across state lines has to be grown and processed in the U.S.
Industry groups like the U.S. Hemp Roundtable support it. The White House has pushed for something similar.
Why the 1% Threshold Doesn’t Cover Flower
Raising the limit from 0.3% to 1% sounds like a big jump. For flower, it doesn’t matter, because flower was never close to that range to begin with.
A 2025 lab audit from the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission tested real THCA hemp flower off real shelves. The average came out to 24.7% total THC, with samples ranging from about 18% up to 39%. Against a 1% ceiling, none of that fits. Flower runs somewhere between 18 and 39 times over the limit this bill would set.
Gummies, drinks, and tinctures are formulated to a specific dose, so a 1% dry-weight rule works fine for them. Flower isn’t formulated to anything. It’s a plant, and THCA is just what a healthy, mature cannabis bud produces on its own. So a bill written to save the hemp industry would, as it stands, still make flower illegal under federal law. The number changed. The outcome for flower didn’t.
To be clear, the testing rules and the age restrictions in this bill are reasonable, and nobody is arguing hemp should have zero oversight. The issue is specifically the 1% total THC definition and what it does to flower.
Where the Bill Stands Right Now
The bill doesn’t have an official number yet. It still has to clear committee, pass the House, pass the Senate, and get signed, all before November 12. That’s a tight timeline, and it’s not the only hemp bill in Congress right now. It’s the newest one, and the one with the most momentum, which means the language can still change.
That’s the point. While it’s still being written is when this needs to get fixed, not after it’s already law.
What You Can Do
Tell your representative and both senators that the total THC threshold in this bill needs to actually include flower, not just raise a number that flower was never going to fit under anyway.
Look up your House representative and your senators. It takes about thirty seconds. A short, specific message works better than a form letter. Something like:
“I’m a constituent who buys THCA flower legally. The Lawful Hemp Protection Act claims to protect hemp, but its 1% total THC threshold still excludes natural flower, which regularly tests at 20% or more. Please push to amend the bill so THCA flower gets a workable, regulated path forward instead of being defined out of existence.”
Vague messages get set aside. Messages that name the exact number and the exact fix are harder to ignore.
In the meantime, nothing’s changed yet. Our current THCA flower selection is still fully legal under today’s rules, and we’re not going anywhere.
