The White House’s 2026 strategy targets intoxicating hemp products alongside fentanyl, leveraging a legislative loophole closure to shutter smoke shops and dismantle the multi-billion-dollar cannabinoid industry.
The Trump administration has released the latest annual White House report on federal efforts to combat drug use and trafficking, the 2026 National Drug Control Strategy, and it has hemp-derived intoxicating cannabinoids squarely in its sights. Such substances are a "growing concern," along with the likes of fentanyl and new classes of synthetic opioids such as nitazines, the strategy says.
The report authored by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP—the drug czar's office) is a biennial effort to set national drug policy and provide a broad approach to dismantling the nation's illicit drug supply. As such, it calls for everything from attacking "narcoterrorists" and global drug trafficking groups to fighting drug use domestically through prevention, education, and drug treatment.
The strategy intends to disrupt the illicit drug supply chain at every stage, from attacking foreign terrorist and transnational criminal organizations abroad, to using federal regulatory agencies to crack down on products skirting the line of illegality, to fortifying communities at home through prevention, education, and treatment.
As part of its whole-of-government approach, the strategy calls on authorities to "intensify efforts to prosecute the illicit production and distribution of dangerous substances within the United States. This includes targeting retail operations, such as vape and smoke shops, that unlawfully market harmful products, particularly to minors. Enforcement will focus on substances falling outside regulatory frameworks or being sold illegally," including certain hemp-derived psychoactive products.
The strategy also notes that: "Enforcement will focus on substances falling outside regulatory frameworks or being sold illegally. The Administration has been granted new legal authority to address certain psychoactive hemp-derived cannabidiol substances thanks to the 'hemp loophole closure' passed as part of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Act funding bill for fiscal year (FY) 2026. Shutting down these domestic sources of harmful substances is crucial to degrading the overall availability of illicit drugs within our communities."
That "hemp loophole closure" has rocked the hemp world, with advocates warning that, if implemented, it could eliminate 90 percent of the hemp cannabinoid industry. The move changed the way hemp is defined by qualifying it as cannabis with less than .03 percent total THC, while it was previously defined as less than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC. It also limits hemp products to less than 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container, and bans synthetic cannabinoids. The new rules will go into effect in November unless Congress acts to delay or replace them.
Without such changes, hemp-derived intoxicating cannabinoids will become Schedule I drugs under the Controlled Substances Act, the ODCP said:
"Psychoactive derivatives of hemp are a growing concern. Although the hemp plant naturally contains small amounts of cannabinoids such as delta-8 THC, delta-10 THC, THC-O-acetate, THCP, and other THC analogs, they are often produced in laboratories, and since the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, products containing them have proliferated. Any final hemp-derived cannabinoid product containing these chemicals will be considered a Schedule I controlled substance under the Hemp Restriction regulations that are scheduled to take effect in November 2026.
"These products are often sold in smoke shops and gas stations, are not regulated, and can contain dangerous chemicals or psychoactive substances," ONDCP continued. "When found in marketed products, these compounds are synthetic, not naturally occurring, have not been evaluated for safety in animals or humans, and have been linked to cases of psychosis and suicide attempts. In many cases, cannabinoids are considered to be Schedule I drugs under the international conventions, and some states have already banned these potentially dangerous products."
The strategy envisions a multifaceted attack on hemp-derived intoxicating cannabinoids, as well as substances such as kratom, including both regulatory and law enforcement action. It calls on regulators to "increase the number of Food and Drug Administration Warning Letters sent to companies selling unauthorized products containing Delta-8 THC," while vowing that "drug traffickers of domestically produced and marketed dangerous products will be brought to justice."
And ONDCP has a plan for that: "To fully dismantle domestic drug distribution networks, the Homeland Security Taskforce and State, local, territorial, and Tribal partners, will intensify efforts to prosecute the illicit production and distribution of dangerous substances originating within the United States. This includes targeting retail operations, such as vape and smoke shops, that unlawfully market harmful products, particularly to minors. Enforcement will focus on substances falling outside regulatory frameworks or being sold illegally," including hemp-derived psychoactive substances, among others."
Last month, Trump called on Congress to protect access to hemp-derived CBD, saying the looming hemp cannabinoids ban must also ensure that "Americans can continue to access the full-spectrum CBD products they have come to rely on." But if the National Drug Strategy is any indication, CBD is the only hemp-derived cannabinoid the Administration has any use for.