“November 12, 2025, is a day that will live forever in my brain,” says Glenn McElfresh, cofounder of THC beverage brand Plift and THC emulsion supplier Perfectly Dosed. “It was a tough day for everyone in the hemp industry.”
McElfresh says he was watching news coverage with officemates when passage of the federal funding bill became official. Beyond reopening the government—which had been closed for 43 days, the longest federal shutdown in history—the funding bill threw the burgeoning hemp industry into turmoil.
To recap: The 2018 Farm Bill legalized the growing of hemp and the making of all its “derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, and isomers.” While lawmakers meant for it to open opportunities for farmers—especially for those in Senator Mitch McConnell’s home state of Kentucky—it also opened a loophole that created an industry worth an estimated $30 billion. By 2022, unregulated THC-infused products such as gummies, vapes, and drinks were flooding convenience stores, gas stations, and smoke shops.
The proliferation of hemp-derived THC products had two divergent effects: It chilled a bunch of consumers out, and it riled up a lot of people against intoxicating THC—including those concerned about the lack of oversight and regulations.
On November 12, when Congress moved to fund the government, it also closed the loophole—with White House support—by quietly attaching a ban set to take effect in 365 days.
“It all went down in the 59th minute of the 23rd hour,” says Michael Flemmens, executive VP of research and technical business development at Sōrse Technologies, which provides emulsions of THC and other functional ingredients. “The only people who weren’t surprised were the lobbyists.”
While the loophole’s sudden closing surprised the industry, it wasn’t without warning. There were murmurs out of Washington in the preceding weeks, and lawmakers at various levels had signaled their desire to re-prohibit hemp-derived THC.
But could they really put the $30 billion genie back into the bottle?