For years, the federal government dodged the central question: what’s the legal, safe, adult‑use path for hemp‑derived cannabinoids? Section 781 answers—but not with a roadmap. It brings a bulldozer.

The bill reconstructs the definition of hemp around Total THC, reaching beyond delta‑9 to sweep THCA into the measurement. It then draws a bright red line through the heart of today’s market: cannabinoids not naturally occurring in the plant—those manufactured outside it—are out. Intermediates like distillates and isolates cannot be sold to consumers. And finished products are pinned under a hard cap of 0.4 milligrams per container for Total THC and any cannabinoids federal health regulators deem to have “similar effects.”

That last mandate is the shockwave. Section 781 obligates federal health regulators to publish a “similar‑effects” list. After years of refusing to regulate consumable hemp, the same agency we begged to set rules is now compelled to define and expand what counts against a micro‑cap nobody can realistically meet. It’s not clarity—it’s closure.

“Even my 1,000 mg CBD tincture would be over the limit with the new rules,” anonymous CBD retailer. “My clients will be forced back to pharmaceuticals to manage their symptoms, with the associated side effects.”

What would remain are fiber, hurd, grain, seed oil, and research. What would vanish are the everyday formats consumers know: flower, vapes, gummies, tinctures, and most wellness products. The economic fallout doesn’t stop at retail counters. Retail cashflow sustains farms, funds equipment, and underwrites the experimentation that pushes fiber and grain forward. Strangle the cash register and the whole value chain gasps.

We Need A Better Path Forward

There’s a better path. Preserve only naturally occurring cannabinoids, require adult‑only access, enforce science‑based potency math, demand ISO‑caliber testing with QR‑linked certificates of analysis, and standardize labels across state lines. That’s how you protect consumers without erasing small businesses.

“Consumable hemp product” means a finished good derived from industrial hemp that is intended for human or animal consumption by ingestion, inhalation, absorption, or topical application, and that contains naturally occurring hemp cannabinoids including, but not limited to, cannabidiol (CBD), cannabigerol (CBG), cannabinol (CBN), cannabichromene (CBC), and naturally occurring acidic forms such as CBDA or CBGA, provided that the product contains no more than 0.3% delta-9 THC on a dry-weight or per-volume basis.

A consumable hemp product may contain:

• Naturally occurring cannabinoids extracted directly from hemp;
• Full-spectrum or broad-spectrum hemp extracts;
• Hemp-derived ingredients used in foods, beverages, tinctures, topicals, capsules, edibles, or vaporized products.

A consumable hemp product shall not contain:

• Synthetic cannabinoids, whether artificially created or converted through chemical processes, including but not limited to:
• Delta-8 THC produced from chemical conversion of CBD,
• Delta-10 THC,
• THC-O acetate,
• HHC, THCP, or similar lab-created analogs;
• Any cannabinoid or compound that is produced through isomerization, hydrogenation, acetylation, or other conversion processes rather than occurring naturally in the hemp plant;
• Any substance prohibited under federal or state law.

“Consumable hemp product” does not include industrial hemp materials such as fiber, hurd, grain, or any product used exclusively for industrial, cosmetic (non-topical), or agricultural purposes.

Join iHemp Michigan. Help us explain to Congress that “regulation” is not the same as “eradication,” and that a responsible national standard can do what Section 781 promises—without destroying what millions already use.