Kentucky Governor Says Hemp Is An ‘Important Industry’...

The Democratic governor of Kentucky says the hemp industry is an
“important” part of the economy that deserves to be regulated at the state
level—rather than federally prohibited, as Congress has moved to do under a
spending bill President Donald Trump signed on Wednesday.

During a press briefing on Thursday, Gov. Andy Beshear (D) was asked
whether he agrees with Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) that the hemp language that
advanced through the appropriations legislation poses an existential threat
to the cannabis market that’s emerged since the crop was federally
legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill.

“I haven’t had a chance to review the language on hemp, but hemp is an
important industry in Kentucky,” Beshear said. “We should have appropriate
safety regulations around it, but we should make those regulations here in
Kentucky—talking to the industry and making sure that we get that balance
right.”

“I think that we can protect our kids. I think that we can do the right
thing to protect all of our people while not handicapping an industry that
supports a lot of people,” the governor said.

That’s essentially the argument that hemp stakeholders have made in the
lead-up to this week’s congressional vote, making the case that there are
public safety concerns with the currently unregulated market, but those
should be addressed with rules such as age limits and testing requirements,
rather than prohibition.

The debate over hemp policy on Capitol Hill pitted Kentucky’s two U.S.
senators against each other. Paul strongly pushed to eliminate the hemp ban
provisions, creating tension with Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who led the
push to re-criminalize consumable hemp products containing THC.

The Kentucky Democratic Party blasted McConnell and Republicans generally
over the hemp language that they say was “slipped” into the bill and “would
destroy Kentucky’s $300 million hemp industry.”

“First bourbon exports tanked. Then Trump’s tariffs crushed soybean sales.
Now Republicans are destroying the hemp industry that employs 3,500
Kentuckians,” the state party said in a fundraising email blast on
Thursday. “Farmers who’ve already harvested their crops could see them go
to waste.”

“McConnell created this industry in 2018,” it said, referring to the
senator’s central role in legalizing hemp through the farm bill. “Now he’s
destroying it on his way out the door, while Kentucky farmers are already
suffering from Trump’s tariffs. Kentucky agriculture deserves better than
Republicans who destroy what our farmers are building,”

Meanwhile, a leading veterans organization is warning congressional leaders
that the newly approved blanket ban on consumable hemp products could
inadvertently “slam the door shut” on critical research.

While many hemp stakeholders say the ban would effectively eradicate the
industry–even applying to nonintoxicating CBD products that people use for
medical reasons—there’s latent hope that they can strike a compromise deal
with lawmakers before the prohibition is implemented this time next year.

Lawmakers such as Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) also say that window could
provide an opportunity to advance legislation to create an alternative
regulatory model for consumable hemp products.

There were attempts by GOP lawmakers in both chambers to strike the hemp
prohibition provision. But the proposed amendments from Paul and Thomas
Massie (R-KY) did not make it into the final package.

On the Senate side, Paul was joined by 22 Democrats—and, notably, anti-marijuana
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)—in voting against a motion to table the amendment to
prevent the ban, but the majority ultimately quashed it.

Massie tried to revive the push in the House with his own amendment
mirroring Paul’s, but the prospects of its adoption were dubious at best,
as there was generally consensus within the Republican caucus that the
spending bill should advance without further modifications that could have
sent it back to the Senate.


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Since 2018, cannabis products have been considered legal hemp if they
contain less than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC on a dry weight basis.

The new legislation specifies that, within one year of enactment, the
weight will apply to total THC—including delta-8 and other isomers. It will
also include “any other cannabinoids that have similar effects (or are
marketed to have similar effects) on humans or animals as a
tetrahydrocannabinol (as determined by the Secretary of Health and Human
Services).”

The new definition of legal hemp will additionally ban “any intermediate
hemp-derived cannabinoid products which are marketed or sold as a final
product or directly to an end consumer for personal or household use” as
well as products containing cannabinoids that are synthesized or
manufactured outside of the cannabis plant or not capable of being
naturally produced by it.

Legal hemp products will be limited to a total of 0.4 milligrams per
container of total THC or any other cannabinoids with similar effects.

Within 90 days of the bill’s enactment, the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) and other agencies will need to publish list of “all cannabinoids
known to FDA to be capable of being naturally produced by a Cannabis sativa
L. plant, as reflected in peer reviewed literature,” “all
tetrahydrocannabinol class cannabinoids known to the agency to be naturally
occurring in the plant” and “all other known cannabinoids with similar
effects to, or marketed to have similar effects to, tetrahyrocannabinol
class cannabinoids.”

The language slightly differs from provisions included in legislation that
had previously advanced out of the House and Senate Appropriations panels,
which would have banned products containing any “quantifiable” amount of
THC, to be determined by the HHS secretary and secretary of agriculture.

Meanwhile, advocates are sharply criticizing congressional leaders for
advancing the spending bill ahead of Veterans Day on Tuesday that also
omits bipartisan provisions allowing U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
(VA) doctors to recommend medical cannabis to patients in states where it’s
legal—even though the policy was approved by the full Senate and House
earlier this year.

The post Kentucky Governor Says Hemp Is An ‘Important Industry’ That Should
Be Regulated At The State Level, Not Federally Banned appeared first on Marijuana
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