The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed a cannabis product enforcement policy to the White House for review on regulatory issues specifically related to CBD.
The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) of the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published a statement on Friday that it received the submission from the FDA, which is under the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Although the update does not include the text of the proposal now being considered by OIRA, it is titled “Cannabidiol (CBD) Product Compliance and Enforcement Policy.”
Another possibility raised by industry observers is that it ties into an executive order to reorganize marijuana that President Donald Trump signed in December, which included provisions to provide federal health insurance coverage for CBD to certain patients. But that rulemaking is being facilitated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which is not listed as the agency that submitted the proposal to OIRA.
Marijuana Moment reached out to HHS and the FDA for comment, but a representative was not immediately available.
As part of the appropriations legislation that Trump signed into law, the 2018 Farm Bill will ban many of the hemp products that were legalized during his first term once again starting in November. The spending measure contained separate provisions, however, for the FDA and other relevant agencies to study the cannabinoid market and develop lists of cannabis ingredients.
After signing the bill, the FDA was given 90 days to publish 1) a list of “all cannabinoids known to the FDA” in cannabis 2) a list of “all cannabinoids of the tetrahydrocannabinol class that the agency believes occur naturally in the plant” and 3) a list of “binoids that have similar effects or may have effects similar to the market. cannabinoids of the tetrahydrocannabinol class”.
It was also tasked with providing the agency with “additional information and specificity” regarding the term “container” in relation to THC serving sizes of hemp product. In the bill, the term is defined as “the inner packaging, container, or container in direct contact with a final hemp-derived cannabinoid product into which the final hemp-derived product is placed for retail sale to consumers, such as a jar, bottle, bag, box, package, can, carton, or cartridge.”
The listings and information were due by February 10, but the FDA missed the deadline.
It is possible, of course, new politics The submission to OIRA is unrelated to the FDA’s mandate to create a list of cannabinoids. Others see it as the next step in expanding federal health insurance coverage, which would make CBD products available to certain patients.
Mehmet Oz, CMS administrator, spoke about the CBD components of the initiative at the order signing ceremony, with Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. To the HHS secretary for “driving change” and pursuing an agenda based on a “deep passion for research.”
The plan has been to create a pilot program to give eligible patients access to hemp-derived cannabidiol that would be covered by federal health insurance plans, scheduled to launch in April, according to Oz.
While the broader rules for the CBD Medicare pilot program have yet to be released, CMS’ website briefly outlines how it navigates hemp-related issues within the LEAD, Accountable Care Organization (ACO), and Enhancing Oncology Model (EOM) regulatory models.
One outstanding question is about coverage eligibility. As the administrator described in December, it would affect those 65 and older who are eligible for Medicare, but the exact conditions were not specified. There were repeated mentions of chronic pain, particularly in relation to cancer, but the CBD eligibility criteria may include additional conditions.
The proposed rule would change the regulations, which currently say that “cannabis products” cannot be covered. The policy would “prevent coverage of cannabis products that are illegal under applicable state or federal law, including the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.” Because hemp and its derivatives like CBD are federally legal, the change suggests that patients in states where these products are legal can make valid insurance claims to pay for alternative treatment options, as long as the product is federally legal.
Another possibility for new submissions under the OIRA review is that it is unrelated to the FDA mandate or CMS health coverage developments. The FDA has faced scrutiny for years after refusing to enact rules that allow CBD to be legally marketed in the food supply, so there are a number of regulatory issues the proposal could address.
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After fifteen years of successful cooperation, managing director Moritz Böcking and the shareholders of Klasmann-Deilmann GmbH have mutually agreed to part ways. As of May 1, 2026, Moritz Böcking will hand over the position of managing director to Jan Astrup, who served as the company’s CEO in 2021/2022. Jan Astrup and Damian Ikemann will form the Board of Directors of the Klasmann-Deilmann Group from now on.
Klasmann-Deilmann thanks Moritz Böcking for his cooperation and the progress achieved in the transformation of the Klasmann-Deilmann Group. Moritz Böcking expanded Klasmann-Deilmann beyond the growing media business into new areas of commercial horticulture and promoted innovation and digitalization within the company. In addition, its achievements include the expansion of resources derived from renewable raw materials, as well as the acquisition of a subsidiary in Australia and production facilities in France and Canada, which operate in cooperation with external partners. He also significantly advanced Klasmann-Deilmann’s positioning as a global pioneer of sustainable development in the growing media industry, thereby making a decisive contribution to the company’s economic growth.
With Jan Astrup, Klasmann-Deilmann is getting an internationally experienced manager who has proven himself in the company and has extensive experience in raw materials, production, process optimization and technology. With the new CEO, raw materials and technology-driven areas for the substrate industry are now increasingly important at senior management level. Jan Astrup will strengthen the core commercial horticulture business and help develop the company for the future.
Rep. James Comer (R-KY) introduced the delay proposal as an amendment to the Farm Bill, while Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL) introduced an expedited approach. Neither will move forward, however, with Comer withdrawing his measure and the House Rules Committee failing to vote on Miller’s.
Hemp derivatives containing less than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC by weight of the drug were made federally legal under the 2018 Farm Bill signed by President Donald Trump in his first term. But late last year, Trump signed new legislation containing provisions that will redefine hemp so that only products with a total of 0.4 milligrams of THC per container will be legal starting Nov. 12.
Comer’s amendment, sponsored by Reps. Kelly Morrison (D-MN), Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Morgan Griffith (R-VA), would have delayed the ban until November 2027.
According to Miller’s proposal, however, the ban will begin the day the new Farm Bill takes effect. However, it is unclear based on progress in Congress whether the large-scale farming legislation will actually become law, and the legislation could not pass until after the current recriminalization date.
Comer told the panel at Monday’s meeting that his amendment would “protect American farmers” and “help the hemp industry and the thousands of jobs that use and rely on these products.”
“It is clear that Congress needs more time to pass legislation that protects jobs, eliminates bad actors, standardizes labeling and requires third-party testing,” he said. “My amendment would give Congress another year, until November 2027, to develop this solution.”
It is not clear why he decided to remove it from the annex to the proposal Farm BillAlso known as the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026, or HR 7567.
Griffith, a member of the Rules Committee who sponsored Comer’s amendment, noted that there are “a lot of hemp products from overseas that don’t have third-party testing” on the market, “frankly all kinds of junk.”
He said the real solution is for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate the products, citing a separate bill he has introduced on the issue, but argued that “we have to have time to adjust,” which he said would provide the delay amendment.
Meanwhile, Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) also introduced an amendment to the bill that, according to the sponsor’s summary, “changes the definition of hemp to protect the legal hemp market, creating a regulatory framework that protects children, bans synthetics, and ensures that products on the market are of American origin.”
The congressman later withdrew the proposal for undisclosed reasons.
Last week, Vince Haley, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, and James Braid, assistant to the president for legislative affairs, sent hemp policy suggestions to Barr, who is helping lead efforts to establish regulations for the plant as an alternative to prohibition.
“We appreciate your work to advance policy,” the executive order Trump signed in December, which included provisions to protect Americans’ access to CBD products, the staff wrote in a letter to Congress.
“We are submitting draft legislation and comments to your account to address the final statutory definition of hemp-derived cannabinoid products to ensure that Americans have access to adequate full-spectrum CBD products while maintaining Congress’ intent to limit the sale of products that pose serious health risks,” White House officials said, according to a social media screencast. “We are open to discussion and further technical assistance.”
The annex to the administration’s proposed legislative text has not been released publicly, and the White House and Barr’s office did not immediately respond to Marihuana Moment’s request for more details.
It’s not clear from the text of the letter whether the White House was proactively sending legislative proposals to the lawmaker or whether they were responding to something sent by his office, though two cannabis industry sources suggested to Marihuana Moment that Barr was sending the language to the administration, and then providing technical feedback.
“I’m calling on Congress to update the Act so Americans can continue to have access to the full-spectrum CBD products they trust and support, while maintaining Congress’ intent to restrict the sale of products that pose health risks,” the president said in a Truth Social message Thursday, the same day his administration announced it is moving forward to re-regulate marijuana.
“We need to do this RIGHT and FAST, especially for those who have found CBD to help them,” he said. “Also, I’m told it will help our BIG FARMERS that we love and will always be around.”
The Farm Bill passed by the previous committee includes provisions to help the hemp industry and farmers who grow cannabis for industrial purposes, such as fiber and grain. For example, the legislation would amend statutes related to states and tribes developing regulatory plans for industrial hemp production, including policies on testing, sampling, background checks and record keeping.
Other bipartisan hemp reform bills are pending in Congress.
Ernst withdrew his name, however, as a sponsor of the legislation. His office did not respond to Marihuana Moment’s request for clarification on the move.
As hemp products become more popular among consumers, some big brands are trying to get in on the action.
The main retailer Target, for example, is expanding its involvement in the hemp-derived THC beverage market. Last year, the company began a pilot program in 10 stores in Minnesota that sell cannabis drinks. That apparently went well, and now the company has secured licenses from Minnesota regulators to sell lower-potency edible hemp products — including THC drinks — in 72 stores in the state.
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North Carolina lawmakers say they’re fueling debate over the state’s marijuana laws — a move by the Trump administration to reclassify it as a less dangerous drug.
Across the country, a set of laws and enforcements regulate marijuana. The drug is illegal under federal law, but dozens of US states have legalized it. And almost all states have legalized medical marijuana prescriptions for certain ailments. North Carolina is among the remaining states to resist any form of legalization. Republican politicians in North Carolina have resisted passing any bills to legalize or decriminalize marijuana, despite public opinion polls showing broad public support for such changes.
Senate President Phil Berger said he expects his chamber to revisit efforts to legalize medical marijuana this week. “We will have a conversation within our caucus if they are interested in whether we do something,” Berger told reporters Tuesday.
The recent actions of Republican President Donald Trump may add a new dimension to these conversations. Trump’s acting attorney general on Thursday signed the drug classification as a less dangerous and less strictly regulated drug than marijuana. Federal law does not legalize marijuana for medical or recreational use.