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ARTICLE · 10 AUGUST 2026

The Week In Weed: August 7, 2026

Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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The hemp industry faces a critical juncture as federal lawmakers debate delaying a ban on intoxicating hemp products, with political pressure mounting from multiple directions including the White House. Meanwhile, Alabama grapples with whether to adopt federal marijuana rescheduling, and Virginia's hemp industry challenges state restrictions in federal court.

United StatesGovernment, Public Sector
Susan Ryan
Susan Ryan
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Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana. This week, hemp is all the rage: the delay, the pushback against the delay, the connection to the White House, a message from Mitch McConnell – this story has it all. And there’s a lawsuit going on in Virginia about hemp, in case you wanted yet more hemp news. Meanwhile, in Alabama, they’re wondering if they can opt out of federal rescheduling. And finally, Dwayne Wade is selling a new cannabis beverage.

FEDERAL HEMP CRIMINALIZATION

As the law currently stands, intoxicating hemp will become illegal on November 12, 2026. The hemp industry, hemp consumers and some lawmakers would very much like to see the law changed. The current effort to do so involves a budget continuing resolution (happily, federal budget finagling is beyond the scope of this blog, so you’ll need to go elsewhere for more on that) which would delay the ban until December 11, 2026. Senate leadership is

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