SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois’ once-promising hemp industry is currently in a state of flux as growers anticipate new federal laws, including a ban on some products. Growers in other states are also worried. 

“The State of Illinois operates under a hemp plan approved by the United States Department of Agriculture and we are awaiting further guidance. Until that time we do not have any new information or developments to share,” said Lori Harlan, a spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Agriculture, on April 29. 

The controversy swirls around federal regulation of intoxicating hemp, or hemp with a THC content of above 0.3 percent. Industrial hemp production was legalized in the U.S. and in Illinois in 2018, with the industry largely expected to produce items like industrial textiles and non-intoxicating CBD products. However, a legal “gray area” allowed hemp to be used in the production of unregulated, intoxicating and synthetic THC (the active ingredient in cannabis) products, creating pushback from the recreational pot industry, which the IDOA oversees. For the past three years, legislation to more strictly regulate the industry has failed in the Illinois General Assembly, pitting the state’s legalized cannabis industry against its industrial hemp growers, according to Capital News Illinois.

“This regulatory gray area has created a loophole that put Illinois consumers of all ages, but particularly children, in danger while an underground market flourished — the exact opposite of what Illinois has done by regulating our cannabis industry,” Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said in a December 2024 news release.

By the end of 2025 at least 32 states, including Illinois, had passed legislation to tighten hemp regulations, or in the case of California, ban intoxicating hemp altogether. In November 2025, Congress passed a federal law banning the sale of intoxicating cannabinoids such as Delta-8 and Delta-9 THC effective November 2026. 

On April 20, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) introduced the Hemp Safety Enforcement Act, aimed at protecting the hemp industry from the pending federal ban. Paul’s bill, which is supported by the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, is co-sponsored by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Joni Ernst (R-IA). According to Paul, the hemp sector faces “extinction” because of a provision buried in the 2026 agricultural appropriations bill that effectively bans most hemp products nationwide.

“Half the states have already set up their own smart rules, THC limits, age restrictions, and safety standards that let hemp farmers grow, manufacturers innovate, and consumers stay safe,” said Paul. “Washington shouldn’t wipe out those efforts or destroy jobs and access to products that help our veterans, our elderly, and families across the country. This bill gives states the freedom to regulate hemp responsibly while keeping dangerous synthetics off the market and ensuring products can move freely between states.”

Jonathan Miller, General Counsel for U.S. Hemp Roundtable, added, “The U.S. Hemp Roundtable, indeed the entire domestic hemp industry, is deeply grateful to Senators Rand Paul and Amy Klobuchar for their introduction of legislation that would provide for the continued sale of valued hemp products in states with regulatory programs, despite the impending federal ban. This legislation would provide invaluable protection for farmers, small businesses, and consumers who rely on these products for their health and wellness. Senators Paul and Klobuchar continue to demonstrate their steadfast support for this promising agricultural industry.”

The 2018 Farm Bill directed USDA to establish a national regulatory framework for hemp production in the United States. USDA published a hemp final rule on January 19, 2021, which provided the regulations for the production of hemp in the United States. The regulations became effective on March 22, 2021. 

Following cultivation approval, hemp products containing cannabinoids were sold across the United States, often in bright, colorful packages some felt were marketed towards youth. On November 12, 2025, Congress and President Trump enacted a full-year FY2026 Agriculture appropriations act containing a provision that reimposes federal controls over certain hemp products. 

As part of the new federal control, growers will be required to test all cultivated hemp plants for THC content. Recently, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service announced they would delay until December 31, 2026, the enforcement of a requirement that all hemp must be tested by a Drug Enforcement Agency-registered laboratory. 

The new federal definition of hemp explicitly includes industrial hemp, according to a summary of the hemp rule shared on Congress.gov. This leaves industrial hemp caught up in many of the same conversations around laws prohibiting intoxicating hemp products on the market.

“The ban represents a dramatic reversal from the federal policy established by the Hemp Farming Act of 2018, which treated hemp as a legal agricultural commodity so long as Delta-9 THC remained below 0.3 percent,” according to the Illinois Municipal League. “From that 2018 law emerged a widespread hemp-derived cannabinoid market, including products with Delta-8 THC, tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) or other previously unregulated psychoactive cannabinoids.”