With the federal hemp ban set to take effect Dec. 11, Willie Nelson is asking Congress to regulate hemp instead of recriminalizing it.
Willie Nelson has a message for Congress before the federal hemp ban hits on Dec. 11: don’t do it.
“It’s time to stop the foolishness and pass sensible law,” the 93-year-old country legend said in a statement shared with High Times. “So I’m asking Congress to reject any effort to recriminalize hemp. Banning hemp on December 11th won’t solve problems, smart regulation will.”
Nelson has a stake in the fight. He owns Willie’s Remedy, a brand that sells hemp-derived products, including THC drinks that exceed the new federal limit.
In his statement, he framed the ban as a blow to the people who grow and use the plant. “The federal ban will wipe out the lawful hemp market and pull the rug out from under American farmers,” he said. “Prohibition won’t stop people from wanting it; it just hands the market to the black market.”
“I was born the year prohibition ended in 1933, and we know that approach does not work.”
Willie Nelson
Nelson was born in April 1933. Alcohol Prohibition ended that December.
“This ban punishes the wrong people,” he said. “It hurts the family farmers growing a legal crop, and it hurts the millions of seniors, veterans, and patients who rely on hemp products for pain relief, sleep and wellness. Congress needs to regulate this industry for safety, not destroy it.”
What Happens on Dec. 11
The ban was written into the spending law that ended the government shutdown in November 2025. It redefines hemp so that finished products with more than 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container no longer qualify, which makes them marijuana under federal law. The U.S. Hemp Roundtable, an industry group, has estimated that more than 95% of hemp products fall outside the new definition. A stopgap funding law pushed most of the change from Nov. 12 to Dec. 11.
That leaves the lame-duck Congress a few weeks to delay it again or replace it with regulation. The fight has split even the alcohol business: lobbyists for some of the biggest brewers and spirits makers urged state attorneys general to keep the ban on schedule, while retailers like Total Wine & More are lobbying for rules that would keep low-dose THC drinks legal, High Times reported.
