Interstate commerce

Interstate commerce is trade that crosses state lines, and it is the legal basis on which the federal government regulates hemp products shipped, sold or advertised across the country.

The 2018 Farm Bill removed hemp, defined as cannabis with no more than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC on a dry-weight basis, from the Controlled Substances Act and expressly barred states from blocking the transport of lawfully produced hemp through their territory. That provision protects shipment, not sale: each state still decides what hemp products may be sold within its borders, and several restrict smokable hemp, intoxicating hemp derivatives or cannabinoid foods. Marijuana, by contrast, remains a federally controlled substance, so moving it across state lines is illegal even between two states that have legalized it.

Interstate commerce also triggers federal consumer-protection authority: the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulates products in interstate commerce under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and the Federal Trade Commission polices advertising. An online store shipping nationwide is squarely within that authority, which is why federal labeling and claim rules apply to hemp products regardless of where the company is located.