WEEKLY DIGEST · ISSUE 008 · MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2026THE HEMP COMPLIANCE LANDSCAPE, VERIFIED WEEKLY
■ The story of the week
OH · 2026-09-04 · COURT ORDER

A second federal court order shields more companies from Ohio's intoxicating-hemp restrictions.

A preliminary injunction entered September 4 in Delta Beverages Inc. v. Canepa (N.D. Ohio) — verified on the court's docket this past week — bars enforcement of SB 56's intoxicating-hemp restrictions against the fourteen plaintiff companies and any person or organization possessing, selling, distributing, or consuming their products, so long as the product qualifies as hemp or a hemp-derived product under federal law. Its operative language parallels the July 13 Titan Logistics injunction protecting ten other companies; the State's appeal of that order is in briefing at the Sixth Circuit. Neither order restores general legality — for everyone else, SB 56 stands, and products over 0.4 mg combined THC per container remain dispensary-only in Ohio.

Delta Beverages Inc. v. Canepa, No. 3:26-cv-01793 (N.D. Ohio Sept. 4, 2026); Titan Logistics Group LLC v. Tischler, No. 3:26-cv-01300 (N.D. Ohio); appeal No. 26-3648 (6th Cir.)
■ What changed — this week
No statute commenced, no rule was adopted, and no court order changed what may be sold, in any of the fifty-two jurisdictions, in the seven days to September 21, 2026.
■ What changed — past 30 days
2026-09-14

Colorado's amended hemp cultivation rules took effect.

Amendments to the Department of Agriculture's industrial hemp program rules took effect September 14 (adopted July 22; published in the Colorado Register August 25). The changes are confined to the cultivation program — grower registration and reporting, planting deadlines, fees, crop sampling and testing, disposal of non-compliant crops, and the total-THC compliance standard applied to crops in the field. Requirements for finished consumer hemp products, including labeling under 6 CCR 1010-24, are unchanged.

8 CCR 1203-23 (amended, adopted 07/22/2026, eff. 09/14/2026)
2026-09-02

Congress delayed most of the federal hemp overhaul.

Pub. L. 119-103 provides that until December 11, 2026 the P.L. 119-37 s 781 amendments reach only products containing cannabinoids the plant cannot naturally produce. The total-THC definition that counts THCA, the 0.4 mg combined per-container cap, the 0.3 percent intermediate cap and the synthesized-cannabinoid exclusion now apply from December 11 rather than November 12. The non-natural cannabinoid exclusion keeps its November 12 date.

Pub. L. 119-103 Div. B § 2019; P.L. 119-37 Div. B § 781
■ In motion — litigation and rulemaking
2026-07-30

North Carolina's hemp overhaul is still waiting on a House floor vote.

The Senate adopted the HB 328 conference report on July 2; the House referred it to its Rules Committee on July 30 and has not voted. The bill is NOT law, and none of its provisions apply unless the House adopts it and the Governor signs. If enacted, its under-21 sale ban would take effect immediately, and its total-THC redefinition — with a 0.4 mg total-THC-per-container cap and a synthetic-cannabinoid ban — on November 12, 2026.

NC HB 328 (2025), conference report H328-PCCS30639-CE-1
2026-08-10

Texas's delta-8 Schedule I listing stays in force.

Hemp businesses' emergency request to pause the rule was denied on August 10, so the listing remains effective statewide. A fuller injunction request is still pending before the court.

2026-07-27

Maryland's proposed labeling amendments remain just proposals.

Proposed amendments to COMAR 14.17 — covering labeling, medical-claims limits, youth-appeal packaging, and a new sublingual-pouch category — closed public comment on July 27. They are not adopted, and current requirements are unchanged.

COMAR 14.17 (proposed amendments)
2026-07-21

Arkansas's consumable hemp product directory is still empty.

The 90-day listing window under Ark. Code § 20-56-514(d) closed in late July with no products listed — on the directory's face, no consumable hemp product may currently be retailed in Arkansas. The agency states the directory updates monthly.

Ark. Code § 20-56-514(d); ATC-CH5 directory
2026-08-19

Idaho posted a third draft of its rule keeping retail THC hemp banned.

After public comment on the Idaho State Department of Agriculture's draft amendment to IDAPA 02.01.07 closed August 14 with zero comments filed, the agency posted a third draft on August 19. No proposed or adopted rule text has been published. The drafts to date keep a non-detectable-THC standard for end products, which would keep virtually all retail THC hemp products banned; adopted or pending rule text will appear in an upcoming ISDA Administrative Bulletin.

IDAPA 02.01.07; ISDA Docket 02-0107-2601
2026-02-10

FDA's federally required cannabinoid lists are seven months overdue.

The lists required by P.L. 119-37 § 781(3) — naturally producible cannabinoids, THC-class cannabinoids, and other THC-like cannabinoids — were due February 10, 2026 and have not been published. Until they are, the line between natural and non-natural cannabinoids rests on the statutory text alone.

P.L. 119-37 § 781(3)
2026-04-28

Marijuana rescheduling: the narrow rule is final, the broad one is pending.

A final rule at 91 FR 22714 moved FDA-approved products containing marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III. It does not change the federal hemp definition at 7 U.S.C. § 1639o. A broader marijuana rescheduling proposal at 91 FR 22777 remains pending, and states may keep stricter schedules than the federal government.

91 FR 22714 (Apr. 28, 2026)
■ Ahead — dated deadlines
DateWhereWhat happens
2026-10-01CTConnecticut's PA 26-8 amendments take effect: the THC-infused-beverage cap rises from 3 mg to 5 mg total THC per container at package stores and manufacturer premises and 10 mg at dispensaries, hybrid retailers and retailers; the beverage package size rises from 4 to 12 containers; and manufacturer-premises beverage sales become lawful. The moderate-THC hemp product band (0.5–5 mg total THC per container) is unchanged.
2026-11-12FederalThe first stage of the federal hemp overhaul takes effect. From this date P.L. 119-37 s 781 applies to intermediate and final hemp-derived cannabinoid products containing cannabinoids the plant cannot naturally produce, such as THC-O acetate.
2026-12-01USExecutive Order 14370 directs a federal regulatory framework for hemp-derived cannabinoid products - covering an upper limit of THC per serving, per-container limits, and CBD:THC ratio requirements - and asks Congress to rewrite the definition of a final hemp-derived cannabinoid product at 7 U.S.C. s 1639o.
2026-12-11FederalThe main federal hemp redefinition takes effect. Hemp becomes a plant at or below 0.3 percent TOTAL THC, calculated to include THCA, and a 0.4 mg cap applies to combined intoxicating cannabinoids per container.
2026-12-31USUSDA's allowance for non-DEA-registered laboratories to perform hemp CROP testing under the U.S. Domestic Hemp Production Program (7 CFR s 990.25(g)(3)) expires.