The US government has imposed a ban on CBD products containing more than 0.4 milligrams of THC per container, sending shockwaves through the multibillion-dollar industry. The amendment, slipped into a sweeping legislation bill, will revocate the legal status of hemp-derived CBD products and leave millions of Americans without access to alternative treatments for pain, depression, and epilepsy.
CBD advocates are outraged, saying Congress acted hastily with no public input. Paige Figi, a Colorado mother whose daughter used CBD to treat her epilepsy, called it “the most thoughtless, ignorant proposal” to an industry that has shown therapeutic benefits in studies.
The ban will affect nearly 45 million Americans who rely on CBD therapies for various conditions. While some states have made CBD fully legal, the federal law preempts these policies, leaving more nuanced approaches moot. Colorado and Virginia, which have established regulations for hemp-derived CBD, are now facing a loss of control over their laws.
Hemp industry advocates warn that the ban will devastate the industry and limit access to treatments for severe epilepsy, PTSD, and other conditions. The FDA has approved only one CBD-based drug, Epidiolex, but research and the pharmaceutical pipeline have not kept pace with consumer need, leaving unregulated CBD products as the primary option.
Parents like Lisa Smith and Tracy Berg are scrambling for solutions, worried that the ban will leave their children without access to life-saving treatments. With only a year left before the midterm elections, advocates face a daunting task in trying to match state successes on the federal level.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/11/20/politics/hemp-cbd-government-funding-bill-ban