Democratic Senators Say Proposed Hemp THC Ban Would Deal A ‘Fatal Blow’ To The Industry

A coalition of Democratic senators are imploring colleagues to derail any
attempt to ban all hemp products containing THC, asserting that it would
deal a “fatal blow” to the industry that emerged during President Donald
Trump’s first term.

While agriculture spending legislation that advanced in the Senate was stripped
of provisions championed by Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) that would’ve
recriminalized marketing of hemp with any quantifiable amounts of THC,
Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) led a letter on Tuesday
urging leadership to resist any effort to revive the proposal.

Specifically, they said the ban proposal would “decimate the American
agricultural hemp industry and imperil states’ ability to prevent unsafe
hemp-derived cannabinoid products from getting into the hands of children.”

“We ask to work with you and interested members to protect consumers by
effectively regulating hemp-derived cannabinoid products instead of passing
language that will instantly drive thousands of acres of crop value across
America, including 3,900 acres in South Dakota, to zero,” the letter says,
referring to the home state of Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD).

Acknowledging that the unregulated hemp cannabinoid market presents “safety
concerns,” the senators said the language included in the original Senate
bill would recriminalize “products currently prolific across the United
States without any method to remove them from the stream of commerce.”

“Instead of this hurried attempt that will not achieve its worthy public
health and safety goals,” the letter outlines alternative options to
address the issue.

Specifically, the senators said there should be a regulatory framework that
prevents the sale of hemp products to anyone under 21, codifies packaging
and labeling requirements that prohibit marketing in a way that appeals to
youth, bars “synthetic or artificially derived products” and mandates
laboratory testing for consumable products.

“Despite regulatory inaction by the Food and Drug Administration in the
years since, under the 2018 Farm Bill language, the hemp industry
flourished and now supports 320,000 American jobs, generates $28.4 billion
in regulated market activity, and produces some $1.5 billion in state tax
revenue,” the letter says.

The proposed ban from McConnell “falls short of a real solution,” senators
wrote.

“If this language were to become law, it would deal a fatal blow to the
American farmers who are the foundation of the regulated hemp industry, and
jeopardize tens of billions of dollars in economic activity around the
country. Let’s work together to regulate these products–building on this
opportunity for economic growth for farmers while improving consumer safety
and protecting kids, instead of re-criminalizing a crop to regulate
finished products.”

“Re-criminalizing cannabinoid products cuts off one leg of the hemp
market’s stool, and it will topple if this language is included in any
final spending bill,” the senators continued. “Over 70 percent of hemp
acreage is dedicated to cannabinoid production, according to the latest
USDA data—and hemp even yields higher profits for farmers compared to corn
or soybeans.”

Consumable hemp products have “significant demand from consumers across the
country,” it says, adding that some military veterans “suggest these
products have helped them reduce use of opioids.”

“By arbitrarily changing the definition of a crop to regulate finished
products, Congress would effectively turn out the lights on America’s
law-abiding hemp farmers and undermine ongoing work by our colleagues in
authorizing committees and in states that have created regulatory
frameworks for hemp products. For these reasons, we strongly urge you to
maintain the removal of this language from the FY26 Ag-FDA Appropriations
Bill and any final FY26 appropriations bill, and instead work with us to
regulate finished products to protect consumers and effectively keep
hemp-derived cannabinoid products out of the hands of kids. We will
continue to stand up for American hemp farmers and small businesses and
oppose efforts to include this language in any bill.”

Other signatories on the letter include Sens. Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD),
John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Michael Bennet, (D-CO) Martin
Heinrich, (D-NM) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).

Meanwhile, a GOP senator recently said that if Congress moves forward with
a proposal to ban hemp products with any amount of THC, nobody is going to
buy the remaining CBD preparations—in large part because “even a little
bit” of the intoxicating cannabinoid makes an important difference for
health effects.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has made abundantly clear that he’s opposed to the
blanket ban on hemp THC products that have been proposed in both chambers
this session. And while he’s in favor of increasing regulations for the
hemp market, he said that an outright prohibition would be disastrous for
the industry.

Paul said last month that he has plans to meet with House lawmakers to
“reach a compromise” on an approach to regulate hemp in light of his
opposition to the THC proposal.

Part of that compromise, he said, is to address concerns he and other
stakeholders have about vague language that leaves it up to the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under Secretary Robert F.
Kennedy Jr. to determine what constitutes a “quantifiable” amount. Without
specifications, the worry it that essentially all consumable cannabinoid
products could end up being re-criminalized.

Paul successfully prevented the ban from being incorporated into a Senate
agriculture spending bill recently passed by the body, with the senator
pushing for regulations that he said would promote public safety while
preserving the hemp industry that’s proliferated since the crop was
federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill—a reform that McConnell played
a key role in advancing.

But while McConnell has contested the idea that the legislation he
sponsored would “completely destroy” the market, as Paul and industry
stakeholders have insisted, he ultimately agreed to pull the language from
the agriculture bill following Paul’s procedural protest.

Meanwhile, Paul recently filed a standalone bill that would go in the
opposite direction of the hemp ban, proposing to triple the concentration
of THC that the crop could legally contain, while addressing multiple other
concerns the industry has expressed about federal regulations.

The senator introduced the legislation, titled the Hemp Economic
Mobilization Plan (HEMP) Act, in June. It mirrors versions he’s sponsored
over the last several sessions.

Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD), who championed a hemp THC ban in his chamber
version of the agriculture spending legislation, told Marijuana Moment that he
wasn’t concerned about any potential opposition to the hemp ban in the
Senate—and he also disputed reports about the scope of what his legislation
would do to the industry.

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) released a report in June 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.

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.

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.”

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 at 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.

The post Democratic Senators Say Proposed Hemp THC Ban Would Deal A ‘Fatal
Blow’ To The Industry appeared first on Marijuana Moment.