hemp

hemp /hɛmp/ n. Cannabis sativa L. held under a THC limit: in US law, no more than 0.3% THC by dry weight. From Dec. 11, 2026, that limit counts THCA too.

1. (botany) The plant Cannabis sativa L., an annual herb with separate male and female plants in most varieties.
2. (agriculture) The crop grown for its stalk fibre, its seed and seed oil, or its flowers. Federal law now calls the fibre and grain crop industrial hemp.
3. (law, United States) A cannabis plant, or anything made from it, with THC at or below the federal limit. The limit and how it is measured are in the notes below.
4. (commerce) Short for products made from the plant: hemp seed, hemp fibre, hemp CBD, hemp flower.

Origin Old English hænep, from the same Germanic root as Dutch hennep and German Hanf, and related to the Greek kannabis (Merriam-Webster).

See also cannabidiol · CBDA · CBG · full spectrum

Checked against the statutes below on Oct. 4, 2026.

Notes

What is the federal definition today?

Until Dec. 10, 2026, hemp means “the plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part of that plant, including the seeds thereof and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers, whether growing or not, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis” (7 U.S.C. 1639o). That wording came from the 2018 Farm Bill, which also took hemp out of the federal definition of marijuana. Because it names only delta-9 THC, flower high in THCA, the acid that heat turns into THC, could be sold as hemp.

What changes on Dec. 11, 2026?

Section 781 of the 2025 appropriations law rewrites the definition (P.L. 119-37, sec. 781); a later law set its start date at Dec. 11, 2026 (H.R. 6500, sec. 2019). From that date:

	Until Dec. 10, 2026	From Dec. 11, 2026
What is measured	Delta-9 THC	Total THC, “including tetrahydrocannabinolic acid”
Limit for the plant	0.3% by dry weight	0.3% by dry weight
Finished cannabinoid products	No separate cap	No more than 0.4 mg of total THC (and THC-like cannabinoids) per container
Cannabinoids made outside the plant	Not addressed	Excluded from hemp
Industrial hemp	Not defined in this section	Defined: grown for stalk and fibre, grain and seed, microgreens, or research

High-THCA flower does not meet the new definition, so under federal law it stops being hemp on that date. How the per-container cap applies to packaged flower is not settled; the Congressional Research Service summary does not resolve it (CRS IF13136).

Does every state use the federal definition?

No. States may set stricter rules, and many do: some ban smokable hemp flower, some limit THCA or set their own testing rules, and some restrict CBD products. A product that fits the federal definition can still be unlawful in a given state. Check your state’s law before you buy any hemp product.

How do growers keep hemp under the limit?

Mostly by breeding. Whether a plant makes THCA, CBDA or CBGA is largely set by its genes, so hemp lines are bred to favour CBDA or CBGA (de Meijer and others, 2003).

Who licenses hemp growers?

The US Department of Agriculture, directly or through approved state and tribal plans. Its rules require samples taken within 30 days before harvest and a test of total THC, measured after decarboxylation or with a conversion factor for THCA (7 CFR part 990).

The shop on this site

The shop sells hemp THCA flower: hemp under the definition in force until Dec. 10, 2026, rich in THCA. Our menu today is high-THCA hemp flower, not CBD flower. Smoked, it gets you high and shows up on THC drug tests. We take Order Requests from every state and block none; whether you may receive it depends on your state’s law. From Dec. 11, 2026, flower that does not fit the new definition leaves the shop.

Sources

• 7 U.S.C. 1639o, definitions (as added by the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, P.L. 115-334).
• H.R. 5371, P.L. 119-37 (Nov. 12, 2025), sec. 781.
• H.R. 6500, sec. 2019, section 781 extension to Dec. 11, 2026.
• Congressional Research Service. IF13136 (Aug. 17, 2026).
• 7 CFR part 990, Domestic Hemp Production Program.
• de Meijer EPM and others. “The inheritance of chemical phenotype in Cannabis sativa L.” Genetics 163 (2003): 335–346. doi.org/10.1093/genetics/163.1.335
• Merriam-Webster. hemp.

Questions

What is hemp?

The plant Cannabis sativa L., in US law any cannabis plant or product with no more than 0.3 percent THC by dry weight. It is grown for fibre, seed and, more recently, for cannabinoids such as CBD.

What does hemp mean in law?

Until Dec. 10, 2026, federal law measures only delta-9 THC. From Dec. 11, 2026, it measures total THC, THCA included, at 0.3 percent, and it also caps finished cannabinoid products at 0.4 mg of total THC per container.

Where does the word hemp come from?

From Old English hænep, related to the Greek kannabis, from which the word cannabis comes.