Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Cannabis Control Board briefs committee on options to regulate hemp products as federal rules shift
Summary
The Cannabis Control Board told the committee on Jan. 8, 2026 that federal changes closing hemp-to-cannabis loopholes could force most out-of-state sales to stop and urged state rulemaking options ranging from light registration to full product oversight to protect Vermont farmers and public safety.
The Cannabis Control Board on Jan. 8 briefed a committee about regulatory options for hemp-derived products as federal policy shifts threaten interstate hemp markets. James Spethard, chair of the Cannabis Control Board, told the committee the 2018 farm bill created a legal category for low-THC hemp but that product-level calculations and chemical conversions have allowed intoxicating products to be sold as hemp across state lines.
Spethard said recent federal action ‘‘would close the main loopholes’’ that have allowed higher-THC packaged products to be marketed as hemp. He cited a described federal per-container limit (which he said was 0.4 milligrams total THC per container under a provision with a delayed effective date) and warned many multi-state hemp product business models would be upended if the federal language…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
