USDA’s benefits agency spent the first half of 2026 doing two things at once – renaming itself and approving a wave of state waivers that reshaped what SNAP dollars can buy. Neither change touches the one rule that keeps tripping up retailers and confusing beneficiaries. Cannabis-derived products, including CBD and Delta-8 items, remain federally ineligible for purchase with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) – renamed the Food and Nutrition Administration (FNA) as of June 1, 2026 – confirmed this rule in a retailer notice that predates the rebrand and still governs today.
If you run a SNAP-authorized store, manage compliance for a multi-location retailer, or sell hemp and CBD products, the rest of this guide walks through where the federal rule stands, how the 2026 state-level restriction wave changes the picture around it, and what a program violation actually costs.
The Federal Rule Has Not Changed
On June 5, 2025, then-FNS Administrator James C. Miller issued a retailer notice with a direct subject line – cannabis-derived products are not eligible for SNAP purchase. The notice reminded the roughly 250,000 SNAP-authorized retailers nationwide that accepting SNAP benefits for foods or drinks containing a controlled substance such as cannabis or marijuana is a program violation, full stop. The notice does not carve out exceptions for hemp-derived CBD, Delta-8, or any THC concentration marketed as a food, drink, or supplement.
That guidance is still the operative rule in 2026. It has not been withdrawn, narrowed, or superseded, and the agency’s rename to FNA earlier this year did not change its substance. Retailers who assumed the rule was tied to the previous administrator or the old agency name are working from an outdated read.
A Wider Wave of SNAP Restrictions Landed in 2026
Separately, and for entirely different reasons, more than 20 states have received FNA approval for SNAP Food Restriction Waivers that limit the purchase of soda, candy, energy drinks, and similar items. These waivers are rolling out on a state-by-state schedule stretching from early 2026 into 2028. A few examples illustrate the range.
- Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Utah, and West Virginia began enforcing their waivers on January 1, 2026, restricting items like soft drinks and candy.
- Idaho, Louisiana, and Oklahoma followed in February 2026 with similar soda-and-candy restrictions.
- Texas and Florida implemented waivers restricting sweetened drinks and candy in April 2026.
- Hawaii and Nevada have waivers approved but not effective until 2027 and 2028, respectively.
None of these waivers mention cannabis or hemp. They target sugar-sweetened beverages and candy on nutrition grounds. But the timing has created real confusion – retailers and beneficiaries hearing about a “new SNAP restriction” understandably wonder whether cannabis products are part of the same rollout. They are not. The cannabis rule is older, federal, and unrelated to the state nutrition waivers, even though both are surfacing in the same news cycle.
| Aspect | Federal Cannabis Rule | 2026 State Food Waivers |
|---|---|---|
| What it restricts | Any product containing cannabis, CBD, or THC | Soda, candy, energy drinks, and similar items |
| Legal basis | Federal controlled-substance program rule (FNS/FNA notice, June 2025) | State-requested, FNA-approved waivers under SNAP nutrition authority |
| Applies nationwide | Yes, in every state | No, only in states with an approved waiver |
| Effective dates | Already in effect, unchanged since 2025 | Staggered rollout, January 2026 through 2028 |
Where Hemp, CBD, and Delta-8 Fit Under Federal Law
The 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp at the federal level by defining it as cannabis with no more than 0.3 percent THC on a dry-weight basis, and OFW Law has tracked how that definition plays out for food and supplement companies in our breakdown of the Farm Bill and USDA’s role. That federal legality for hemp itself is a separate question from SNAP eligibility. A product can be entirely legal to sell under the Farm Bill and the FDA’s current enforcement posture, covered in our update on FDA enforcement against CBD and Delta-8 products, and still be barred from SNAP purchase because FNS/FNA guidance treats any product containing THC or CBD as a controlled-substance item for program purposes. Legal to sell and SNAP-eligible are not the same standard, and retailers who conflate them are the ones most likely to end up on the wrong side of a compliance review.
Why “Hi Snaps” and Similar Product Names Cause Confusion at the Register
A meaningful share of the search traffic reaching this topic is people asking whether a product called “Hi Snaps” can be purchased with SNAP benefits. The name similarity looks like the entire source of the confusion rather than any actual overlap with the federal program. Hi Snaps appears to be a cannabis-adjacent product marketed independently of the SNAP program, and the shared word “snap” is doing all the work in generating this specific search pattern.
The underlying legal analysis does not turn on branding, packaging, or a product’s name. It turns on ingredients. If a product contains cannabis, CBD, or THC in any concentration, FNS/FNA guidance treats it as ineligible regardless of what the label calls it or how it is marketed. Retailers evaluating an unfamiliar product should check the ingredient panel, not the product name, before running it through as a SNAP transaction, and should not assume a product is safe to accept simply because its name has nothing to do with cannabis.
What a Program Violation Actually Costs a Retailer
The June 2025 notice is not a suggestion. FNS/FNA has been explicit that retailers who accept SNAP benefits for cannabis-containing products face real consequences, and the agency paired the notice with a broader fraud-enforcement push that has already produced criminal charges against a USDA employee and several retailers in one multimillion-dollar SNAP fraud case. The exposure for a retailer includes the following.
What a Retailer Risks
- Disqualification from the ability to accept SNAP benefits, which for many convenience and specialty retailers is a meaningful share of transaction volume.
- Monetary penalties and fines assessed per violation, which compound quickly for a retailer selling multiple flagged products.
- Criminal referral in cases the agency treats as intentional fraud rather than a training gap, and our attorneys regularly see this distinction become the whole case.
Retailers facing an active SNAP violation investigation, or who have already been disqualified, should talk to counsel before responding to the agency. OFW Principal Stewart D. Fried and our SNAP and WIC compliance team represent retailers in exactly these disputes, including the disqualification appeals covered in our related piece on getting disqualified from SNAP. Cannabis and hemp businesses navigating this rule alongside state licensing questions can also reach our cannabis regulatory counsel.
What This Means If You Receive SNAP Benefits
Beneficiaries searching this topic are usually trying to answer a narrower question. Can a specific purchase go through on an EBT card. The answer follows the same ingredient-based rule that governs retailers. A SNAP card will not cover cannabis, CBD, or THC products at checkout regardless of state law, dispensary licensing, or how the product is labeled. Beneficiaries with questions about a specific item are better served checking with the retailer or FNA’s SNAP Retailer Guide than assuming a product qualifies because it resembles other eligible snack or beverage items. Separately, beneficiaries in states with new soda and candy waivers should expect some previously eligible drinks and snacks to stop scanning as SNAP-eligible starting on that state’s effective date, which is a nutrition-policy change unrelated to the cannabis rule.
A Compliance Checklist for SNAP Retailers
Retailers carrying hemp, CBD, or adjacent wellness products can reduce their exposure with a few concrete steps.
Compliance Checklist for SNAP Retailers
- Audit your SNAP-eligible SKU list against ingredient panels, not product names, and flag anything containing hemp extract, CBD, or THC in any form.
- Retrain point-of-sale staff on the cannabis rule specifically, since most violations trace back to a cashier who did not know a product was flagged.
- Track your state’s waiver timeline separately from the cannabis rule so staff do not conflate the two restrictions during training.
- Document your compliance process so that if FNS/FNA or a state agency opens an inquiry, you can show a good-faith training and review system rather than starting from zero.
- Loop in counsel early if a distributor or supplier is unclear about whether a new product line contains a controlled substance under this rule.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you buy CBD gummies or CBD oil with SNAP benefits?
No. FNS/FNA guidance treats any product containing CBD as ineligible for SNAP purchase, regardless of whether the CBD is hemp-derived or legal to sell under the 2018 Farm Bill.
Are Delta-8 or Delta-9 hemp-derived products SNAP-eligible?
No. The federal rule does not distinguish between Delta-8, Delta-9, or other cannabinoid concentrations. Any product containing a cannabis-derived compound is treated as ineligible.
Which states have SNAP soda and candy waivers in 2026?
More than 20 states have FNA-approved waivers restricting items like soda, candy, and energy drinks, with effective dates staggered from January 2026 through 2028. Our state-by-state SNAP waiver tracker covers the current list.
Is the cannabis SNAP rule connected to the 2026 state soda and candy bans?
No. The cannabis restriction is a federal, controlled-substance rule that predates the 2026 waivers. The state waivers address sugar and nutrition, not cannabis, and were approved through a separate process.
What happens if a retailer accepts SNAP for a cannabis or CBD product?
The retailer risks disqualification from the SNAP program, monetary penalties, and in cases the agency treats as intentional fraud, criminal referral.
Does a product’s brand name affect whether it is SNAP-eligible?
No. Eligibility turns on ingredients, not branding. A product name that sounds unrelated to cannabis does not change the analysis if the product itself contains THC or CBD.
If your business is navigating a SNAP compliance question, a retailer notice, or a disqualification proceeding, reach out to OFW Law’s SNAP and WIC team before responding to the agency.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Consult a qualified attorney about your specific situation.
