CBD Program Details Released as Hemp Rules Tighten
In our latest Trade To Black podcast presented by Flowhub, Shadd Dales, Anthony Varrell, and Michael Bronstein cover two major topics: the newly detailed federal CBD pilot program launching in April and the increasingly divergent state-level responses to hemp regulation.
The CMS pilot program just published its CBD framework, and among some of the key details include Medicare patients receiving up to $500 annually in hemp-derived cannabinoid products, with orally administered formats and up to three milligrams of THC permitted — a threshold that represents the federal government quietly acknowledging THC has therapeutic value. Bronstein noted that the program is structured through accountable care organizations using shared savings models rather than direct government reimbursement, and that cannabis-derived products are currently excluded due to the plant’s Schedule 1 status, though the framework includes language allowing the product scope to be expanded.
At the same time, a separate report from the New York Post this weekend pointed to continued delays around cannabis rescheduling at the federal level. So you’ve got one part of the government moving slowly on policy… and another part quietly moving forward with real-world use. Then you layer in what’s happening at the state level. Some states are tightening restrictions on hemp-derived THC products, while others are choosing to regulate and allow them with limits. All of this is happening ahead of a federal ban on hemp-derived THC expected to take effect in November 2026.
In Segment 2, we explore the growing divide between federal and state policy, how operators should be thinking about this shift, and whether hemp companies are now being pushed into a state-by-state model that looks a lot more like cannabis. This one is less about headlines — and more about understanding where things are actually going.
