Pennsylvania Hemp Steering Committee Update - November 2025 - Urgent Action Needed: Federal Hemp Definition Under Threat
- Zach White
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Dear Pennsylvania Hemp Industry Members,
On November 17, 2025, the Pennsylvania Hemp Steering Committee formally sent a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Russell C. Redding expressing our grave concerns about federal legislative language that would effectively destroy large portions of Pennsylvania’s legitimate hemp industry.If you haven’t seen the proposed language yet (it has appeared in various forms in the House and Senate Farm Bill drafts, appropriations riders, and standalone bills), here’s what it would do in plain English:
Redefine “hemp” to impose ultra-low total-THC limits (often 1 mg or less per container) on finished consumer products — not just on the plant material in the field.
Ban virtually all full-spectrum CBD, CBG, CBN, and minor-cannabinoid products that naturally contain trace amounts of THC, even when those products are non-intoxicating and have been safely sold for years.
Collapse the distinction between responsible, compliant wellness products and the unregulated, high-potency intoxicating products that everyone agrees need stronger controls.
This is not a targeted effort to “close the Delta-8 loophole.” This is a sledgehammer that would crush farmers, processors, manufacturers, retailers, and the patients who depend on full-spectrum hemp extracts.
What We Told Secretary Redding (and Why It Matters to You)
In our letter we made three things crystal clear:
Pennsylvania’s hemp industry is real and growing.
We have thousands of acres in production, millions of dollars in processing infrastructure, and jobs in rural and urban communities alike. Sudden federal changes would wipe out investments overnight.
We share the concern about youth access and intoxicating synthetics.
We are not defending gas-station Delta-8/10/THCP vapes or 100 mg gummies sold with cartoon packaging. Those products need strict age-gating, testing, labeling, and reasonable potency caps — exactly like Pennsylvania and other states already do with cannabis.
There is a responsible middle path.
Regulate the bad actors without banning non-intoxicating, full-spectrum wellness products that doctors, veterans, seniors, and everyday Pennsylvanians rely on every single day.
We asked Secretary Redding to:
Publicly oppose the overbroad total-THC language,
Advocate for risk-based regulation of intoxicating products only, and
Bring Pennsylvania’s voice (and data) to federal negotiators and our congressional delegation before it’s too late.
Where Things Stand Right Now (December 2, 2025)
The fight is entering its most critical phase. Farm Bill negotiations are continuing into the lame-duck session and possibly early 2026. Restrictive hemp-THC language keeps resurfacing in different bills and amendments. If it gets slipped into a must-pass package without changes, the damage will be irreversible.
What You Can Do Today
Read the full letter here: [link to PDF on our website or member portal].
Contact Secretary Redding’s office and thank him for Pennsylvania’s leadership on hemp — and urge him to carry our message to Washington. (Phone: 717-787-4737 | Email available on agriculture.pa.gov)
Reach out to your state Representative and Senator. Many of them sit on Ag committees or will be meeting with federal lawmakers soon. A 2-minute call or email from you carries enormous weight.
If you’re able, share your story. How many acres do you farm? How many Pennsylvania employees do you have? How many customers rely on your full-spectrum products for wellness or pain management? Real numbers and real faces move policy.
We are scheduling an emergency member call next week to give you the latest intelligence from D.C. and Harrisburg, plus coordinated talking points and sample letters. Watch your inbox for the invite.
Pennsylvania built one of the strongest, most responsible hemp programs in the country because farmers, processors, and regulators worked together. We can protect that progress — but only if we speak with one clear, united voice right now.
Thank you for everything you’ve invested in this industry. We’re in this fight together.
In solidarity,
The Pennsylvania Hemp Steering Committee
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