The hemp industry is experiencing one of its most dramatic turning points in years, and the impact stretches far beyond farms, processors, and supplements. It even reaches into everyday retail settings like the corner gas station, where hemp-derived products have become increasingly common. As lawmakers move toward a stricter regulatory model, this shift will influence not only hemp growers but also the many small businesses—especially every gas station that has relied on sales of Delta-8 gummies, vapes, and CBD-infused items to attract customers.
The hemp industry was rocked this week when the federal government approved a bill that would effectively ban intoxicating hemp-derived products. Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell, once hailed as a “hero” for championing hemp in his home state of Kentucky, tucked a provision into the spending package to end the government shutdown that would make Delta-8, CBD, and other cannabinoids extracted from hemp illegal under federal law as of November 2026.
The market for intoxicating products derived from hemp is relatively new. The 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp by defining it as cannabis containing less than .03 percent THC by dry weight; a section of the bill removed hemp from its Schedule I status under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Botanically, it’s all the same plant, Cannabis sativa, but the reasoning was that no one was going to get high on an agricultural commodity destined for use in textiles, animal feed, and CBD wellness supplements.
However, enterprising businesses quickly found a loophole by extracting Delta-8-THC from low-potency industrial hemp. Delta-8 is similar in chemical composition to Delta-9-THC, the psychoactive component in marijuana, and offers a comparatively mild high. The quasi-legality of Delta-8 gave rise to a massive industry of intoxicating hemp-derived gummies, concentrates, and vapes for sale at gas stations and convenience stores around the country without any of the regulations imposed on cannabis products, despite warnings from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Center for Disease Control about potential negative health effects.
This week, Congress voted to close the hemp-derived THC loophole, shooting down a proposed amendment from Sen. Rand Paul that would have eliminated language around hemp products. The revised policy, set to take effect a year from now, would ban all hemp-derived products containing more than 0.4 mg of total THC per container, making it essentially impossible to manufacture or distribute intoxicating hemp products outside of state-legal marijuana markets.
Nearly half of all states have imposed restrictions on Delta-8 since 2018; to date, 24 states have legalized recreational cannabis, and medical cannabis is available in some form in 42 states. These shifting laws will directly affect retailers, including every gas station that has stocked hemp-derived items to capture consumer demand.
The $28 billion American hemp industry employs 300,000 people, and plenty of them are pissed at the government crackdown. “Job-killing Republicans are at it again,” Wisconsin State Senator Chris Larson wrote on Threads. “In Wisconsin, this [bill] means hundreds of small businesses, thousands of jobs, and millions of dollars of economic activity are at risk of disappearing in a flash.” The industry coalition U.S. Hemp Roundtable condemned the vote in a press release claiming that “this legislation would wipe out 95 percent of the industry, shuttering small businesses and American farms while costing states $1.5 billion in lost tax revenue.”
Under the new provisions, intoxicating hemp would fall under state marijuana laws, which would be a good thing, according to Chris Lindsey, vice president of policy and state advocacy at the American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp (ATACH). Lindsey experienced the pitfalls of the grey market himself when he was slapped with federal charges for operating a state-legal marijuana business in Montana in 2011. When he opened his store, locals were supportive, Lindsey says, but public opinion shifted when other shops started advertising cheap weed. “In a situation where there are no rules, you’ll be judged by the worst actors among you,” Lindsey says. “When I see Delta-8 gummies at the gas station, I’m like, you realize the federal law has never changed?”
His point underscores how the image of the hemp market has been shaped by impulsive consumer sales including sales at the gas station, where inexpensive, unregulated cannabinoid products became ubiquitous. Lindsey believes the hemp industry will face significant issues as long as cannabis is federally illegal. “We’re not far away from serious trouble if somebody decides to go after the pot people again,” he warns. “I don’t want to get confused with some chemist in a basement who sees a lane because he gets to call his bullshit hemp.”
As policymakers debate the future, brands, distributors, and even the local gas station operator all stand at the edge of a major reset. The products that once filled shelves next to energy drinks and snacks may soon disappear entirely. And with Congress moving toward clearer rules, the era of buying Delta-8 gummies at the gas station appears to be coming to an end whether retailers are ready or not.
