Adrian Bruneau’s post-traumatic stress disorder sneaked up on him. An aviator in the United States Marine Corps, Bruneau had been deployed in the Balkans in the 1990s and later in the Middle East. After finishing active service in 2006, he said, he was spun into a “maelstrom” of mental anguish and turned to alcohol and cocaine for relief. Then he discovered CBD (cannabidiol) gummies, and for the first time in a few years was able to get a full night’s sleep.

“You would be amazed at how restorative that is to the human body,” he told CNN. When THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) beverages started coming out, around 2018, they replaced alcohol for him. “It was life changing.”Bruneau is a cofounder of the American Alternative Care Policy Network, a nonprofit organization that advocates for access to alternative healthcare therapies. He is among a contingent of people pushing back against a federal ban on many CBD and THC products set to go into effect December 11.

“We have a lot of veterans, first responders, frontline workers and trauma survivors that have integrated these products into their into their daily wellness routines,” said John R. Gordon, another AACPN cofounder. “Those products are going to disappear overnight.”The so-called “hemp ban” does not apply to marijuana products sold through state-licensed medical or recreational dispensaries. But many CBD and THC gummies, oils, sodas and other products made from hemp plants will no longer be legal under federal law.

Botanically speaking, there’s not much difference between hemp and marijuana. Both terms refer to the cannabis plant. Marijuana contains more THC, which is the compound that produces a high. Products made from marijuana must be bought and sold through state-licensed programs.

For a crop to be considered hemp — as opposed to marijuana — it must contain no more than 0.3% THC by dry weight.

When Congress passed the 2018 Agriculture Improvement Act, also known as the farm bill, for the first time American farmers were legally allowed to grow hemp for many uses, including textiles, industrial uses and animal feed. The law also cleared the way for a range of products including food and beverages as well as skincare and salves infused with CBD and other cannabinoid compounds from the plant. Products containing CBD soon represented a multibillion-dollar market in the United States.

The 2018 farm bill hadn’t set up specific regulatory requirements for those products, and neither has the US Food and Drug Administration in the years since the law was passed. A large market of high-dose and synthetic THC products exploded, according to critics — including Kentucky Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell and parents concerned about their children accessing potentially dangerous gas station products.

This looming ban — slipped into a sweeping budget bill passed by Congress last year — was set to go into effect this November before a bipartisan coalition of senators managed to punt the deadline by a month, to December 11. The law bans selling any hemp product with more than a minuscule 0.4 milligrams of THC per container, effectively barring thousands of non-psychoactive gummies, tinctures, salves and beverages with trace amounts of THC. (Low-dose gummies or capsules might contain 1 to 3 milligrams per serving.)

While McConnell is the provision’s chief supporter, one of its biggest critics also hails from his state. Republican Sen. Rand Paul has called the change “the most thoughtless, ignorant proposal to an industry that I’ve seen in a long, long time.”It puts hundreds of thousands of jobs and potentially tens of billions of dollars at risk, said Ronan Kennedy, CEO of cbdMD, a public company that sells CBD and THC products online and in some retailers and integrative healthcare practices.

Like many in the business, Kennedy welcomes laws that would restrict the proliferation of dangerous synthetics and create a legal pathway for sale.

“It’s possible to make regulations to keep people safe without enacting a total prohibition on the entire plant,” said Marie La France, cofounder of Louie Louie hemp seltzers in New Orleans.

There is bipartisan support for better hemp regulation. Paul teamed up with Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat, on a bill this year that would essentially let states opt out of the ban. In the House, Republicans and Democrats in states like Texas and Virginia have partnered on bills proposing more flexible regulations. Another extension of the December deadline is not out of the question.

Some in the alcohol and marijuana industries support an imminent ban with further regulation down the line.

With a few exceptions, there are not officially approved medical uses for CBD and THC, but people use them for a range of potential benefits — chief among them, gummies for sleep. Some take CBD for stress management, and people are increasingly turning to edibles and drinks with THC as an alternative to alcohol.

Some people find hemp products helpful for arthritis pain. Many with chronic pain conditions rely on topical and edible CBD for daily relief or to manage flareups after trying “countless treatments without success,” said Nicole Hemmenway, the CEO of the U.S. Pain Foundation. John Schwam, a former volunteer firefighter in New York, told CNN he uses cannabis concentrates to quell chronic mucus buildup and neuropathic tingling he has dealt with since working at Ground Zero after the September 11, 2001, terror attacks.

Parents across the country rely on CBD to treat their children’s epilepsy when conventional medications fail to stop their seizures.

There is a theory that the various components of the cannabis plant work together and some evidence that that “full-spectrum” products — meaning those which comprise all the plant’s natural cannabinoids, including THC — are most effective for treating pain and inflammation. “For some, full-spectrum CBD has become one of the few things that’s made a difference in their lives,” Hemmenway said. Full-spectrum products typically have very low amounts of THC per serving and are not intoxicating.

While people using these products to treat life-altering PTSD, painful arthritis or epileptic seizures may weigh the costs against the benefits, it’s good to know what those costs can be.

Cannabis impairs cognitive functioning and can be particularly detrimental to young brains that are still developing. Though many people take CBD or THC for insomnia, evidence shows that cannabis may harm sleep rather than help it. For some people, cannabis use causes severe vomiting.

Using THC during pregnancy is associated with higher risk of preterm birth, low birth weight and babies being admitted to intensive care. Poison control centers across the country have fielded thousands of calls about kids who have ingested cannabis edibles.

And as cannabis has proliferated, cannabis use disorder has risen sharply, especially among those who use it daily or weekly. People who use higher potency products are more likely to experience addiction and mental health outcomes.

Any hemp-derived product that contains a total of more than 0.4 milligrams of THC per container will be classified as a Schedule I narcotic. That classification includes drinks and edibles made from hemp, many of which have 2.5 milligrams, 5 milligrams, 10 milligrams or more per serving.

The 0.4 milligram limit effectively bans all edibles, tinctures and capsules that are “full spectrum,” meaning they comprise all the plant’s natural cannabinoids, including THC.

Still, it is virtually impossible to make a full-spectrum product that contains less than 0.4 milligrams in an entire bottle or box, said Bill Morachnick, CEO of Charlotte’s Web, a publicly traded CBD company that pioneered the use of hemp oil as a treatment for seizures. Such products are “collateral damage” in the ban, he said.

The ban also applies to CBD products that were recently made available to seniors through a new Medicare program.

The legislation also targets products containing synthetic cannabinoids. That includes delta-8 THC and delta-10 THC, which exist in trace amounts in the hemp plant, but are commercially manufactured to make high-potency products. Products with synthetic cannabinoids — often found in gas stations and smoke shops — are banned effective November 12.

If you currently buy CBD or THC products at a licensed marijuana dispensary, nothing will change, since those products are made from marijuana, not hemp. Otherwise, check the package. It should say how much of each cannabinoid the product contains. If the amount of THC in the whole package is greater than 0.4 milligrams, it will be taken off the consumer market once the ban goes into effect.

If the product is described as “full spectrum,” it will almost certainly fall into this category. Products labeled “broad spectrum” contain no or only trace amounts of THC. It is possible that some of these may not be affected, but even trace amounts add up, said Shawn Hauser, a partner at Vicente, a Denver-based law firm that specializes in cannabis law and policy. “A standard 30 milliliter bottle of tincture or a multipack of gummies easily contains several milligrams of total THC across the whole package,” she said.

Where you live matters, too. If you live in a state with medicinal or recreational marijuana, you may be able to find your preferred products at a licensed dispensary. If your state has its own hemp program, you may still be able to find them at licensed retailers or order them online. Consumers “have to be very educated,” Hauser said.