Congressional Committee Approves Federal Hemp THC Ban That Stakeholders Say Would Decimate Industry

A powerful 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.

The House Appropriations Committee passed the agriculture appropriations
legislation in a 35-27 vote on Monday. It now heads to the Rules Committee
to be prepared for floor consideration.

While the panel adopted a manager’s amendment to a report attached to the
bill earlier this month that provided clarifying language stating that
members did not intend to prohibit non-intoxicating cannabinoid products
with “trace or insignificant amounts of THC,” the underlying bill went
unchanged, despite the industry’s concerns about the proposal.

The large-scale measure covers a wide range of issues, but for hemp
advocates and stakeholders, there’s one section of particular concern that
would redefine the crop 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 House Appropriations Subcommittee on
Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related
Agencies—championed the hemp ban, which he said “closes the loophole” in
the 2018 Farm Bill allowing for consumable hemp products with THC that led
to the proliferation of the market.

As many states have stepped in to curb these dangerous project products
from reaching consumers, particularly children, it’s time for Congress to
act to close this loophole while protecting industrial hemp industry,”
Harris said this month. “Reports that the included language would destroy
legitimate businesses are simply not true, and that’s clear to anyone
closely reading the carefully drafted language that I believe threaded the
needle.”

Despite Harris’s strong opposition to cannabis reform and criticism of
intoxicating hemp products, his manager’s amendment to the report that the
committee approved notably expresses the intent of the committee to take a
more flexible regulatory approach to certain cannabis items.

“In determining the quantifiable amounts, the Committee does not intend for
industrial or nonintoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoid products with trace
or insignificant amounts of THC to be affected,” it says.

But the language in the bill itself would still 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.

The proposed policy championed by Harris 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.”

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) released a report last week
stating that the legislation would “effectively” prohibit hemp-derived
cannabinoid products. Initially it said that such a ban would prevent the
sale of CBD as well, but the CRS report was updated to exclude that
language for reasons that are unclear.

An Appropriations Committee press release on Monday said the bill “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 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.

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.

A leading alcohol industry association, meanwhile, has called on Congress
to dial back language in the House spending bill that would ban most
consumable hemp products, instead proposing to maintain the legalization of
naturally derived cannabinoids from the crop and only prohibit synthetic
items.

Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA) President and CEO Francis
Creighton said in a press release that “proponents and opponents alike
have agreed that this language amounts to a ban.”

“By pushing a rapidly evolving industry back into the shadows, Congress is
creating even more chaos in the marketplace, undermining state initiatives
and punishing responsible actors,” he said. “We urge the full House to
reconsider this approach. States can regulate intoxicating products safely
and effectively through systems that preserve consumer trust and public
safety. It’s time for Congress to follow their lead, not override their
authority.”

Members of WSWA also met with lawmakers and staffers in April to advocate
for three key policy priorities that the group says is based on “sound
principles of alcohol distribution.” They include banning synthetic THC,
setting up a federal system for testing and labeling products and
establishing state-level power to regulate retail sales.

Separately, key GOP congressional lawmakers—including one member who
supports marijuana legalization—don’t seem especially concerned about
provisions in the bill despite concern from stakeholders that it would put
much of the hemp industry in jeopardy by banning most consumable products derived
from the plant.


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Jonathan Miller, general counsel of the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, 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.

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.

Texas GOP Governor ‘Wants To Legalize Recreational Marijuana,’ Lieutenant
Governor Claims

*Photo courtesy of Kimzy Nanney.*

The post Congressional Committee Approves Federal Hemp THC Ban That
Stakeholders Say Would Decimate Industry appeared first on Marijuana Moment.