The November 2026 Federal Cliff

Last verified: April 2026

What the November 2025 Federal Stopgap Did

The federal stopgap funding law enacted in November 2025 contained three core hemp provisions:

• Redefined hemp. The statute revised the 2018 Farm Bill’s definition of hemp to count all forms of THC — not just delta-9 — against the legal threshold. This closes the isomer loophole that produced Delta-8, Delta-10, THC-O, HHC, and HHC-O markets.
• 0.4 mg THC per container. Hemp products are capped at 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container, regardless of package size. A typical 10 mg-per-gummy edible package would be more than 25× over the cap.
• Synthetic cannabinoid ban. Lab-made cannabinoids — the chemistry that underpins most current Indiana intoxicating-hemp manufacturing — are banned outright.

The provisions are scheduled to take full effect November 12, 2026, unless modified by subsequent legislation.

What That Means for Indiana’s $637 Million Market

Indiana’s 2023 Whitney Economics study estimated $637 million in annual hemp-derived cannabinoid sales across roughly 540 retail stores and 1,400 gas stations. Industry estimates suggest ~95% of those products would become Schedule I marijuana federally on the November 12, 2026 effective date. Categories at risk:

• Delta-8, Delta-10, THC-O, HHC, HHC-O, and THCP products (synthetic cannabinoid ban + total-THC redefinition)
• Hemp-derived Delta-9 edibles delivering 10–100 mg per package (0.4 mg per container cap)
• Most hemp-derived inhalables and beverages (total-THC redefinition)

What plausibly survives: low-THC CBD products and CBD-dominant tinctures within the 0.4 mg-per-container ceiling.

Rep. Jim Baird’s Delay Bill

Indiana’s 4th congressional district representative Jim Baird has filed federal legislation to push the effective date from November 12, 2026 to 2028, citing the time needed for the hemp industry to reformulate or wind down. The bill has not advanced past committee. Companion delay efforts in other states with significant hemp economies have similar trajectories.

Sen. Aaron Freeman’s SB 250 (2026)

Indiana’s parallel state-level effort came from Sen. Aaron Freeman (R-Indianapolis), who chairs the Senate Corrections and Criminal Law Committee. His SB 250 (2026) mirrored the federal stopgap:

• 0.4 mg THC per container cap
• Ban on synthetic cannabinoids
• Explicit anti-rescheduling clause designed to block automatic state alignment with any federal marijuana rescheduling

SB 250 passed the Senate 35-13 but died on February 24, 2026 after missing the House second-reading deadline. Freeman called it “another example of why we should be a unicameral Legislature” and signaled a 2027 refile. A revival attempt via SB 144 amendment also failed. AG Todd Rokita had opposed an earlier permissive bill (SB 478, 2025) as expanding the loophole.

I’d rather eliminate all these things from the planet, period.

Sen. Aaron Freeman, defending SB 250 in committee, January 2026

The Industry Pushback

Indiana’s hemp industry, organized largely through the Midwest Hemp Council — led by Bose McKinney & Evans partner Justin Swanson — opposed SB 250 as “decimating an entire industry.” The Council’s position: in the absence of a regulated marijuana program, Indiana’s hemp framework provides the only legal access to THC for adult Hoosiers, and a 0.4 mg/container cap effectively eliminates the product category.

Indiana operators carrying the largest market share — 3Chi in Indianapolis (founder Justin Journay) and Earthshine Labs in Bloomington — face existential reformulation choices. Options under consideration: cannabinoid-free wellness products, low-dose products meeting the new federal ceiling, or pivoting operations to states with regulated marijuana programs.

Possible Trajectories After November 12, 2026

Why the Cliff Matters Beyond Hemp

For Indiana, the November 2026 cliff is the single largest near-term cannabis-policy event. The state has built no regulated marijuana market — see bills that keep dying — meaning Hoosiers’ legal THC access has come almost entirely through the hemp framework. If the federal cap takes effect without an Indiana medical or adult-use program in place, Indiana would simultaneously have the strictest marijuana prohibition in the Midwest and a federally-imposed near-elimination of its $637 million hemp economy. Reform advocates expect the resulting consumer pressure to reopen the medical-cannabis conversation in the 2027 session. Senate Pres. Pro Tem Bray and House Speaker Huston have not signaled any change in posture.

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