In the legislation used to reopen the federal government, Congress slipped in a policy shift: a new ban on CBD products containing more than 0.4% THC. For years, the CBD marketplace has operated as an unregulated, billion-dollar offshoot of the 2018 Farm Bill—creating everything from gummies to tinctures marketed as legal alternatives to marijuana. But for the cleared workforce, CBD has always been risky territory.
CBD has long posed challenges for security clearance holders and applicants. While marijuana legalization has expanded across the country, federal guidelines remain unchanged: DoD civilians and service members are prohibited from using CBD outright, and cleared professionals must navigate a murky threshold based on THC content. Even products advertised as compliant often aren’t. If a clearance holder “pops hot” on a drug test, the burden of proof falls on them—creating delays, investigations, and possible denials and revocations.
The newly enacted threshold doesn’t shut down the CBD industry overnight, and pushback is expected given its size. But it signals a federal intent to rein in a sector full of mislabeled, unpredictable cannabis derivatives. The change doesn’t affect legal marijuana businesses; it specifically targets derivatives born from gaps in the Farm Bill—products like hemp-derived gummies, oils, and infused edibles.
For clearance holders, the guidance remains clear: avoid CBD products with any meaningful level of THC. Even if marijuana is rescheduled at the federal level, regulatory updates for the cleared community will lag behind. Using a mislabeled CBD product, even unintentionally, can jeopardize a clearance.
As always, the safest path is waiting for explicit guidance from your agency, DoD, or ODNI. Until then, treat CBD with caution—and keep connected with us for ongoing updates as legislation evolves.
