California Attorney General Rob Bonta, along with 34 other attorneys general, sent Congress a letter thanking lawmakers for updating the language of the Farm Bill and urging continued protections from intoxicating hemp products. The letter responds to Congress’s revision of the hemp definition, which addressed a loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill that led to the proliferation of intoxicating hemp products across the nation.
“For years, dangerous, intoxicating items disguised as everyday snacks have been readily available to California consumers,” said Attorney General Bonta. He said closing the loophole protects children and consumers, allows well-meaning farmers to continue growing legal hemp, and supports accountability for what he described as nefarious actors. Bonta also urged Congress to ensure the new regulation is enacted without change or delay.
The Farm Bill Revision
The Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 legalized industrial hemp for commercial use. Congress’s stated goal was to permit the production and sale of industrial hemp as a non-intoxicating commodity. The 2018 Farm Bill limited industrial hemp-derived products to no more than 0.3% delta-9 THC on a dry-weight basis, but its definition did not reference other cannabinoids existing in or derived from the cannabis plant.
The source states that companies exploited that ambiguity by converting legal hemp extractions into intoxicating products containing delta-8 THC, delta-10 THC, THCA, and synthetically derived THC. In November 2025, Congress revised the definition of “hemp” in the Appropriations Bill, Pub. L. 119-37. The revision capped total natural psychoactive cannabinoid content, including THC and THCA, at 0.4 milligrams per container. It also limits total THC content to 0.3% on a dry-weight basis and excludes products described as exploiting the loophole.
Coalition’s Request
In their letter, the attorneys general congratulated Congress for closing the loophole, which they said protected consumers, provided regulatory clarity, and preserved legitimate industrial, agricultural, and non-intoxicating hemp markets. They urged Congress to reject efforts to delay, repeal, suspend, or weaken the November 2025 redefinition and to ensure it takes effect as enacted and remains in place thereafter.
The coalition stated that failing to do so would result in renewed litigation, inconsistent enforcement, regulatory uncertainty, increased youth access to intoxicating products, and disruption of lawful businesses that have already adjusted their operations to comply with the new federal framework. Bonta joined attorneys general from Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.