{"id":1258,"date":"2026-05-17T11:40:24","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T11:40:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/?p=1258"},"modified":"2026-05-17T11:40:24","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T11:40:24","slug":"how-us-hemp-ban-could-criminalize-cbd-products-and-derail-medicare-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/?p=1258","title":{"rendered":"How US hemp ban could criminalize CBD products \u2013 and derail Medicare plan"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"border-color:var(--article-border);background-color:var(--article-inner-background)\" class=\"dcr-wqti5a\">\n<div class=\"dcr-2zxs1v\">\n<div style=\"--grid-area:media\" data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tr9ye5\">\n<figure id=\"78f81c00-15f4-4354-ad5b-e38f905e4139\" class=\"dcr-142siv7\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"blurry cannabis leaves\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/9bf85315e6ac15c3c6662b0c6dfd5292ea07b9e2\/0_0_6000_4000\/master\/6000.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"310\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><span class=\"dcr-v822l1\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-gup2gr\">\n<div class=\"dcr-fntg6k\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-1xgwz8b\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1os51wo\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Lawmakers have been trying to pass legislation to delay the hemp ban or replace it with regulation since it first passed.<\/span> Photograph: Iana Kunitsa\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-13fd1ms\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"78f81c00-15f4-4354-ad5b-e38f905e4139\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-4tmywn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-194i6pr\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-n4pnam\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1hdkqum\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Lawmakers have been trying to pass legislation to delay the hemp ban or replace it with regulation since it first passed.<\/span> Photograph: Iana Kunitsa\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:border\" data-gu-name=\"border\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:headline\" data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1aqe7zu\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-1k1a1x\">How US hemp ban could criminalize CBD products \u2013 and derail Medicare plan<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:standfirst\" data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-b3fmmo\">\n<p>Pilot program to reimburse patients for hemp-derived products could be undermined by ban passed by Congress<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:body\" data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-kn9unn\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1a4fred\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-ydnaza\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-1c9t5u6\">\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><span style=\"color:var(--drop-cap);font-weight:500\" class=\"dcr-15rw6c2\">T<\/span>he Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently started a new pilot to reimburse patients for hemp-derived products \u2013 like CBD \u2013 but a hemp ban that Congress passed in November could derail the program.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The new program will make certain Medicare and Medicaid recipients eligible for reimbursement for up to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cms.gov\/priorities\/innovation\/substance-access-beneficiary-engagement-incentive\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">$500 worth of hemp products each year<\/a> and is intended in part to evaluate whether these products could reduce their other health related costs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">But the program\u2019s definition of hemp comes from the 2018 Farm Bill, which created the loophole that has allowed so many cannabis products to be sold outside state-authorized dispensaries. Under the Farm Bill, hemp is any cannabis product derived from plants containing less than .3% delta nine THC. If the hemp ban <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/nov\/12\/hemp-republican-spending-bill\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">that passed with last year\u2019s spending bil<\/a>l goes into effect as planned on 12 November (it goes into effect one year after passage), all products containing more than .4mg of THC of any kind <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/nov\/22\/what-will-hemp-ban-mean\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">will become federally illegal<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">This would criminalize \u201cthe vast, vast majority of hemp products, including most non-intoxicating CBD products\u201d, says Jonathan Miller of US Hemp Roundtable.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Inesa Ponomariovaite, owner of Nesa\u2019s Hemp, which specializes in CBDA hemp extract, met with members of Congress this week to advocate for laws that would keep her products legal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cCongress is trying to pass laws on something that they\u2019re not even fully understanding, and that\u2019s really going to affect us,\u201d Ponomariovaite said, who noted that during her meetings, she had to explain the endocannabinoid system to senators who had not heard of it before.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC8221009\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">The endocannabinoid system<\/a> is a system of receptors throughout the brain and other organs that interacts with cannabinoids, which appear in the cannabis plant but also form naturally in the human body. It helps regulate pain, memory, cognitive processing and energy, which is part of why cannabis products affect us the way they do.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Ponomariovaite says products that contain a wide array of cannabinoids have stronger therapeutic effects than isolated CBD, for example, which might be the only type of CBD available should the ban go through.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Lawmakers have been trying to pass legislation to delay the hemp ban or replace it with regulation since it first passed, Miller said. In December, Oregon Senator Ron Wyden re-introduced the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/119th-congress\/senate-bill\/3474\/text#toc-idC4BC08A2E9F2484095D3544521958D7F\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Cannabinoid Safety and Regulation Act<\/a>, which would replace the ban with regulation to ensure hemp products are safe and free of contaminants. Indiana Representative Jim Baird <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/119th-congress\/house-bill\/7010\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">introduced a bill in January <\/a>that would delay the hemp ban for two years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Miller blames political tension as to why neither of these laws have yet made it through Congress: \u201cCongress isn\u2019t passing anything these days, it\u2019s so polarized and so partisan that it\u2019s hard for them to pass even the most obvious bills, and so we\u2019re kind of caught up in that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">While the White House hasn\u2019t proposed any specific counters to the hemp ban, Trump has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marijuanamoment.net\/trump-pushes-congress-to-keep-full-spectrum-cbd-legal-while-restricting-hemp-products-that-pose-health-risks\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">posted on Truth Social <\/a>calling for Congress \u201cto update the Law to ensure that Americans can continue to access the full-spectrum CBD products they have come to rely on.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The Trump administration has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/apr\/30\/trump-administration-cannabis-rescheduling-confusing\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">taken steps<\/a> to<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/jan\/12\/trump-cannabis-executive-order-reschedule\" data-link-name=\"in body link\"> reschedule cannabis <\/a>to acknowledge its medical potential, but has also faced political resistance to many of its pro-cannabis policies, including the Medicare-linked hemp pilot program. A group of advocates, including Drug Free America Foundation and Cannabis Industry Victims Educating litigators <a href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.dcd.290970\/gov.uscourts.dcd.290970.1.0.pdf\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">sued the health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, and the CMS administrator, Mehmet Oz<\/a>, over the program, accusing them of establishing a plan to promote substances that may soon be considered federally illegal without going through proper administrative procedure. The court denied the lawsuit\u2019s attempt to block the program.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Ponomariovaite says that lawmakers are worrying about the wrong thing when they focus their energy on trying to dissect the cannabis plant, making parts of it legal and parts of it illegal. Their focus should instead be on contamination.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cHemp itself is like a natural soil cleaner. It actually grabs all the micro toxins, the mildew, bacteria, metals, and absorbs them within the hemp plant. So if you extract that plant for medicinal properties, that plant is going to be loaded with toxins,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">A Forbes Health investigation recently found <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/health\/cbd\/lab-testing-investigation\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">that some popular CBD products<\/a> include mold, yeast and fungicide. While some hemp companies, like Ponomariovaite\u2019s, regulate their own safety through lab testing, and some states even require it, quality controls on hemp products are not universal. Laws like the Cannabinoid Safety and Regulation Act would make it possible for the FDA to regulate hemp products.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Miller says that he\u2019s \u201ccautiously optimistic\u201d that Congress will act to block the ban before it goes through in November.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Ponomariovaite said that if the ban does go through, she\u2019ll continue to make hemp products, but they won\u2019t be as effective. In order to make sure they will only contain legal cannabinoids, she says she\u2019ll \u201cbasically have to do plant surgery. I am not a big fan of that. I want to keep all the chemistry in one bottle.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-qxqnsy\"><span class=\"dcr-1rq3vad\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-1dzx48f\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-1rrvs2w\">\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-news\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">US news<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/society\/cannabis\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Cannabis<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-congress\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">US Congress<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/healthcare\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">US healthcare<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/tone\/features\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">features<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-nu129i\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=How%20US%20hemp%20ban%20could%20criminalize%20CBD%20products%20%E2%80%93%20and%20derail%20Medicare%20plan&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/17\/hemp-ban-medicare-medicaid?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-125qj9d\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-zhx6xs\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2026%2Fmay%2F17%2Fhemp-ban-medicare-medicaid&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=us-news\/2026\/may\/17\/hemp-ban-medicare-medicaid\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-14rjinq\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:right-column\" data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-1h2hraq\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tn16h9\">\n<section class=\"dcr-1hko8ef\"><\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lawmakers have been trying to pass legislation to delay the hemp ban or replace it with regulation since<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1259,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1258","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1258"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1258\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1260,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1258\/revisions\/1260"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}