Key GOP Congressmen, Including Pro-Marijuana Legalization Member, Defend Effort to Ban Consumable Hemp Products

Key GOP congressional lawmakers—including one member who supports marijuana
legalization—don’t seem especially concerned about provisions in a new
spending bill that would put much of the hemp industry in jeopardy by
banning most consumable products derived from the plant.

In interviews with Marijuana Moment, Congressional Cannabis Caucus co-chair
Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH) and House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glen
Thompson (R-PA), as well as Rep. Lou Correa (D-CA), weighed in on the hemp
language in the large-scale bill that cleared the the House Appropriations
Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug
Administration, and Related Agencies on Thursday.

Under the measure, hemp would be redefined 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.

While Joyce backs legalizing and regulating cannabis for adult use, he said
the language from the 2018 Farm Bill that federally legalized hemp and its
derivatives “has been the stepping stone for the gas station delivery of
intoxicants, whether that’s hemp or chemically manufactured [products] or
whatever other shit it is that they sell at gas stations.”

“And there’s no age limit on it. So you’re handcuffing the regular cannabis
industry that has strict standards that they have to meet everywhere, and
yet this industry has flourished,” he said, adding that problems with the
current law have been “exacerbated by people because there are some
allegations that [intoxicating hemp products are] cannabis. It’s not hemp
anymore.”

The congressman also seemed to endorse a push in Ohio to make it so
intoxicating hemp products could only be sold to adults at licensed
marijuana dispensaries. He said he told Gov. Mike DeWine (R) that,
regardless of his views on the issue, the problem is the “gas station stuff
that the kids are getting that all these people are up in arms about.”

That said, Joyce said while he does feel the 2018 Farm Bill’s hemp
provisions included a “loophole” that’s been exploited, he hasn’t read the
text of the latest legislation yet.

“I’m all for regulating the industry… It has to be regulated so that only
adults are getting it,” he said.

To be clear, beyond simply regulating hemp products for adult access, the
appropriations legislation that’s advancing in the House would have the
effect of outright banning even non-intoxicating CBD products that contain
trace amounts of THC, industry advocates say.

Thompson, for his part, said that although his committee “improved upon”
and “clarified” federal hemp laws between the 2014 and 2018 versions of the
Farm Bill, “unfortunately there were some unintended consequences.”

“Some folks that really took advantage of [the hemp language] and they used
it to manufacture intoxicants, and I think that’s what [the House
Appropriations Committee] is trying to address,” he said. However, he said
the more likely long-term solution will come through the next iteration of
the large-scale agriculture legislation, rather than an appropriations bill
that must be annually renewed.

“This will be determined only within the Farm Bill, and the committee will
work its will on it,” the congressman said. “I can tell you that there are
a lot of members of the Agriculture Committee in the House who were not
happy with how some really took advantage of that language. It was supposed
to be about food and fiber—not about intoxicants.”

Meanwhile, Correa, who supports marijuana legalization, said he’s “not
quite sure what’s motivating” Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD), a vociferous
opponent of cannabis reform who chairs the House subcommittee that advanced
the spending bill on Thursday. But the congressman said he hopes Harris
will be “okay with our psychedelics stuff,” referring to efforts to support
research into plant medicine as part of his Congressional Psychedelics
Advancing Therapies (PATH) Caucus.

Harris said in opening remarks at Thursday’s hearing 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.

The provisions in the bill now heading to a full committee vote 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.

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.


*— Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug
policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon
supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps,
charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.*


*Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on
Patreon to get access. —*

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.

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.

*The LCB contributed reporting from Washington, D.C. *

Doctor Seeking To Reschedule Psilocybin To Treat Dying Patients Demands DEA
Update After Agency Agreed To Initiate Federal Review

*Photo courtesy of Brendan Cleak.*

The post Key GOP Congressmen, Including Pro-Marijuana Legalization Member,
Defend Effort to Ban Consumable Hemp Products appeared first on Marijuana
Moment.