Hemp’s Federal Reclassification: Auditing Products and Planning the Transition When They Become Schedule I

Agustin E. Rodriguez, Partner | Troutman Pepper Locke LLP

Agustin E. Rodriguez advises cannabis, tobacco, gambling, and other highly regulated businesses on the federal and state rules that govern their products. A partner in the Richmond and Washington, D.C. offices of Troutman Pepper Locke, he counsels manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and suppliers on licensing, taxation, marketing, advertising, and product sales, including manufacturers and suppliers of smokeable hemp and cannabis products. He co-authored the firm’s analysis “Congress Narrows Federal Definition of ‘Hemp,’ Effectively Banning Most Intoxicating Hemp Products.” He is fluent in Spanish and proficient in Portuguese.

• Education & Credentials

Mr. Rodriguez earned his J.D. from The University of Chicago Law School in 1994 and his B.A. from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs in 1990. He has completed executive education programs in Corporate Governance & Leadership in the Boardroom at Harvard Business School and in Mergers and Acquisitions at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He is admitted to practice in Virginia and the District of Columbia.

• Recognition & Leadership

He is recognized by The Best Lawyers in America® for Cannabis Law (2027) and served on the Law360 Cannabis Editorial Board in 2022 and 2023. He was named a Super Lawyers Virginia Rising Star in 2007 and received the Emerson G. Spies Award from the Virginia Bar Association. He sits on the Board of Directors of the Nicotine Resource Consortium (2026). In the community, he is Board Chair Emeritus and a Director of Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia, Inc., Secretary and Director of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Foundation, a Director of the Richmond SPCA, and President of the Princeton Association of Virginia.

• Professional Involvement

Mr. Rodriguez serves on the Food & Drug Law Institute’s Cannabis-Derived Products Committee and previously served on its Tobacco and Nicotine Products Committee (2021–2023). He writes regularly for the Regulatory Oversight blog, the Tobacco Law Blog, and Law360 on hemp-derived products, state cannabis regulation, FDA enforcement, nicotine pouches, and tobacco taxation. His recent speaking includes “The Cannabis Industry in Transition: Rescheduling, Banking Constraints, and Financial Distress Risks” (CeriFi CLE Webinar, September 2026) and the “Cannabis & Hemp 101” and lending panels at the Cannabis and Hemp Financial Services eSchool (February 2026), as well as programs at the FTA Tobacco Tax Section Annual Conference, Next Generation Nicotine Delivery USA, and The American Tobacco + Nicotine Forum. He also mentors founders through Startup Virginia.

• Experience

His cannabis work includes counseling Harvest Health and Recreation Inc. on regulatory matters in its sale to Trulieve Inc., advising issuers listing on U.S. securities exchanges on cannabis regulation, and counseling mezzanine financiers investing in state medical marijuana licensees and payment processors serving the industry. He also advises manufacturers and suppliers of smokeable hemp and cannabis products.

On the tobacco and consumer products side, he represented a tobacco company in a multiyear arbitration with 18 states and territories over Master Settlement Agreement payments and advises on FDA regulation, state litigation, excise taxes, licensing, antitrust (Sherman Act and Robinson-Patman Act), and anticorruption compliance. He has represented a retailer in state attorney general investigations into product marketing, advised clients on FDA, FTC, and NAD advertising rules, and counseled gaming clients on Virginia casino and sports betting licensing.

Before joining the firm, he was Vice President and Associate General Counsel at Altria Group, Inc., where he managed legal work for the company’s cigarette, cigar, and smokeless tobacco divisions, coordinated MSA-related litigation with state attorneys general, and built supply chain compliance programs across Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa.

Christopher W. Baxter, Senior Manager, Federal Affairs | Troutman Strategies

Christopher W. Baxter develops legislative initiatives and political strategy and leads advocacy before Congress and federal agencies as Senior Manager, Federal Affairs at Troutman Strategies, the government affairs arm of Troutman Pepper Locke, in Washington, D.C. His policy work spans food safety, appropriations, tax, trade, health care, and health information technology, and his clients include agricultural groups, trade associations, Fortune 500 companies, health care entities, educational institutions, multinational corporations, and nonprofits.

• Education & Credentials

Mr. Baxter earned his B.A. in Political Science from the University of Maryland in 2012. He is registered as a federal lobbyist.

• Recognition & Leadership

Mr. Baxter leads advocacy efforts before Congress and federal agencies as Senior Manager, Federal Affairs at Troutman Strategies, a role he has held since January 2025. He develops legislative initiatives and political strategy for agricultural groups, trade associations, Fortune 500 companies, health care entities, educational institutions, multinational corporations, and nonprofits. He has been part of the Troutman Strategies team since 2013 and is registered as a federal lobbyist

• Professional Involvement

He co-authored “Policies in Focus: Opportunities and Challenges Expected for M&A and VC in 2025” (January 2025) and contributes to the firm’s insights on tariff and trade policy and health IT policy. He is a member of Electing a Democratic Generation (EDGE), a network of young professionals.

• Experience

Mr. Baxter joined Troutman Strategies in 2013 and has more than a decade of government affairs experience, working on legislative and regulatory matters that include appropriations and food safety policy for agricultural, trade association, and corporate clients.

Before joining the firm, he was a legal research assistant in the government affairs group of another law firm, focusing on agricultural and international trade issues, and a research assistant in the Washington, D.C. office of Senator Robert Menendez, where he covered banking and housing issues.

SESSION 1 – Diagnosing Product Exposure and Transition Paths Under the New Hemp Definition | 12:00pm – 1:30pm

This session walks through how Section 781 of Public Law 119-37 (Continuing Appropriations, Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Extensions Act, 2026) narrows the federal definition of hemp and reclassifies most hemp-derived cannabinoid products as Schedule I controlled substances.

Attorneys will learn how to assess whether certain products will still be considered “hemp” under the new regime, or if such products will be considered Schedule I marijuana instead. In large part, this discussion will highlight the key forthcoming changes to the definition of “hemp,” including the new total (not just Delta-9) THC concentration standard, the 0.4 mg per-container cap, and the blanket exclusion of synthetic cannabinoids. Attorneys will also learn how to advise clients on reformulation, inventory disposition, and contractual obligations changes as the new definition takes effect. Attendees leave with a working framework for sorting products into three groups: those that survive as “hemp,” those that can be reformulated to meet the new definition, and those with no compliant path forward. The session closes with a look at whether Congress might still act to delay or re-work the changes to the “hemp” definition, and what else could be on the horizon for federal hemp and cannabis policy.