Congressional Committee Approves Bill To Ban All Hemp Products With THC

A GOP-led House committee has approved a spending bill containing
provisions that hemp stakeholders say would devastate the industry, prohibiting
most consumable cannabinoid products that were federally legalized during
the first Trump administration.

Just one day after releasing the text of the legislation, the House
Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and
Drug Administration, and Related Agencies advanced the proposal covering
fiscal year 2026 in a 9-7 vote, sending it to the full committee for
consideration.

The 138-page bill covers a wide range of issues, but for the hemp industry,
there’s a section of particular concern that would redefine hemp under
federal statute in a way that would prohibit cannabis products containing
any “quantifiable” amount of THC or “any other cannabinoids that have
similar effects (or are marketed to have similar effects) on humans or
animals” as THC.

Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD), chair of the subcommittee, said in opening remarks
that the legislation “closes the hemp loophole from the 2018 Farm Bill that
has resulted in the proliferation of intoxicating cannabinoid products,
including delta-8 and hemp flower being sold online and in gas stations
nationwide under the false guise of being ‘USDA approved.'”

“As many states have stepped in to curb these dangerous products from
reaching consumers, particularly children, it’s time for Congress to act to
close this loophole, while protecting the legitimate industrial hemp
industry,” he said.

That would effectively eliminate the most commonly marketed hemp products
within the industry, as even non-intoxicating CBD items that are sold
across the country typically contain trace amounts of THC. Under current
law, those products are allowed if they contain no more than 0.3 percent
THC by dry weight.

But the proposed policy being taken up by the subcommittee helmed by
Harris, a vociferous opponent of marijuana reform, would drastically change
that. It would instead maintain the legal status of “industrial hemp” under
a revised definition that allows for the cultivation and sale of hemp grown
for fiber, whole grain, oil, cake, nut, hull, microgreens or “other edible
hemp leaf products intended for human consumption.”

A press release from Harris’s committee says the legislation “supports the
Trump Administration and mandate of the American people by…closing the hemp
loophole that has resulted in the proliferation of unregulated intoxicating
hemp products, including Delta-8 and hemp flower, being sold online and in
gas stations across the country.”

The bill is scheduled for a markup before the full House Appropriations
Committee on Wednesday, June 11.

The hemp language is largely consistent with appropriations and agriculture
legislation that was introduced, but not ultimately enacted, under the last
Congress.

Hemp industry stakeholders rallied against that proposal, an earlier
version of which was also included in the base bill from the subcommittee
last year. It’s virtually identical to a provision of the 2024 Farm Bill
that was attached by a separate committee last May via an amendment from
Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL), which was also not enacted into law.

“If this amendment becomes law, it will destroy the entire American hemp
industry and set back a decade’s worth of progress to fully legalize
cannabis,” Jim Higdon, co-founder of the Kentucky-based company Cornbread
Hemp, told Marijuana Moment. “Democrats and Republicans who believe in
freedom should oppose Rep. Harris’s attack on American hemp farmers.”

There are some differences between the prior spending bill and this latest
version for 2026, including a redefining of what constitutes a
“quantifiable” amount of THC that’d be prohibited for hemp products.

It now says that a quantifiable amount is “based on substance, form,
manufacture, or article (as determined by the Secretary of Health and Human
Services in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture),” whereas it
was previously defined as an amount simply “determined by the Secretary in
consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services.”

The proposed legislation also now specifies that the term hemp does not
include “a drug that is the subject of an application approved under
subsection (c) or (j) of section 505 of the Federal Food, Drug, and
Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 355),” which seems to carve out an exception for
Food and Drug Administration- (FDA) approved drugs such Epidiolex, which is
synthesized from CBD.

While certain text has been revised, the legislation “has the same desired
effect, which would ban the vast majority of hemp products in the
marketplace,” Jonathan Miller, general counsel to the U.S. Hemp Roundtable,
told Marijuana Moment on Wednesday ahead of the vote.

Miller said stakeholders are generally skeptical about the prospect of the
appropriations legislation advancing in its current form given unrelated
controversies over various provisions, but they are still operating under
the impression that it’s “a dire emergency, because this would have such a
devastating impact on farmers and on consumers that really take these
products for granted to helping their health and wellness.”

Aaron Smith, CEO of the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA),
stressed that hemp-derived THC products “are already widely available
across the country.”

“Despite legislators’ intent, this budget provision won’t change that fact,
but it will ensure these products are made and sold without oversight,
delivering a big win to the drug cartels at the expense of public health
and safety,” he said. “Congress should empower federal agencies to regulate
these products responsibly, not double down on prohibitionist policies that
have already proven to be failures both in practice and in the court of
public opinion.”

Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA) called the provision
“troublesome” and “overly broad” in an email update to supporters, saying
it will “undermine states across the country who have enacted critical
regulations that govern intoxicating hemp products.”

The alcohol industry group said that Congress should act on the issue of
intoxicating hemp, but only by targeting synthetic derivatives while
explicitly giving states the authority to regulate products.

“In the absence of a robust federal regulatory system, states have been
filling the void by passing comprehensive legislation to regulate
intoxicating hemp and protect public health and safety within their
borders,” WSWA said. “This has led to the development of a vibrant,
innovative new industry that is creating thousands of American-made jobs
and generating state tax revenue. Adoption of the current language
contained in this bill would undermine those state actions and do nothing
to eliminate bad actors who irresponsibly market potentially harmful
products.”


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Separately, Miller told congressional lawmakers in April that the market is
“begging” for federal regulations around cannabis products.

At the hearing, Rep. James Comer (R-KY) also inquired about FDA inaction
around regulations, sarcastically asking if it’d require “a gazillion
bureaucrats that work from home” to regulate cannabinoids such as CBD.

The consumable hemp product crackdown isn’t exclusive to the federal
government, as multiple states—from California to Florida—have moved to ban
intoxicating cannabinoids in recent months.

In Texas, the legislature recently delivered a bill to the governor that
would outlaw all consumable hemp-derived cannabinoid products containing
any detectable THC. Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has declined to say how he will
act on the measure.

Meanwhile, alcohol industry representatives descended on Washington, D.C.
in April to urge members of Congress to create a federal regulatory
framework for intoxicating hemp-derived products such as
cannabinoid-infused beverages—a market segment that’s ballooned since the
legalization of hemp through the 2018 Farm Bill.

A report from Bloomberg Intelligence (BI) last year called cannabis a
“significant threat” to the alcohol industry, citing survey data that
suggests more people are using cannabis as a substitute for alcoholic
beverages such a beer and wine.

Last November, meanwhile, a beer industry trade group put out a statement
of guiding principles to address what it called “the proliferation of
largely unregulated intoxicating hemp and cannabis products,” warning of
risks to consumers and communities resulting from THC consumption.

North Carolina Governor Backs Marijuana Legalization And Forms A Bipartisan
Commission To Craft A Plan

*Photo courtesy of Kimzy Nanney.*

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With THC appeared first on Marijuana Moment.