Trump ‘Supports’ Hemp THC Ban...

President Donald Trump “supports” the proposed ban on hemp products
containing THC that’s been included in a Senate spending bill, a White
House spokesperson says as cannabis, alcohol and other interests continue
their efforts to influence the final deal.

One day after the Senate cleared an appropriations package for floor
consideration—with provisions that hemp stakeholders say would effectively
eradicate the market—a White House staffer told NBC News that the president
“supports the current language in the bill on hemp.”

While Trump endorsed cannabis reform on the campaign trail—including a
pending proposal to reschedule marijuana–he’s also voiced concerns about
non-medical cannabis use. During his first term, he signed the 2018 Farm
Bill that federally legalized hemp and its derivatives, but he’s been less
vocal about issue related to the cannabis cousin.

Now, eager for a plan to re-open the government amid a historic shutdown,
the White House says he’s on board with the controversial ban, which is
just one part of a major legislative package.

Marijuana Moment reached out to the White House for additional comment, but
a representative was not immediately available.

POTUS "supports the current language in the bill on hemp," per WH official

Sen Rand Paul has long told leadership + industry folks he won't consent to
bills unless the loophole is preserved, created by the 2018 farm bill that
allows unregulated THC products to be sold nationwide

— Julie Tsirkin (@news_jul) November 10, 2025

Meanwhile, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) hasn’t thrown in the towel just yet,
filing an amendment he’s asking leadership to allow to be considered that
would strike the hemp language altogether.

But there are many competing voices weighing in on the issue, including a
coalition of alcohol companies that sent a letter to senators on Monday
imploring them to support the current language.

The American Distilled Spirits Alliance (ADSA), Beer Institute (BI),
Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. (DISCUS), Wine America and Wine
Institute said in the letter that Paul’s “shortsighted actions could
threaten the delicately balanced deal to reopen the federal government.”

“Manufacturers of beverage alcohol, one of the most highly regulated
consumer products, urge the Senate to reject Sen. Paul’s attempts to allow
hemp-derived THC products to be sold devoid of federal regulation and
oversight across the country,” it says. “We stand ready to work with
Congress and the Administration to enact meaningful regulations that
protect consumers and ensure a safe, orderly marketplace for these
intoxicating products once this loophole is addressed.”

The alcohol companies separately pushed Congress to hold the line on the
hemp ban in a letter to leadership last week.

Under current law, cannabis products are 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 would apply to total THC—including delta-8 and other isomers. It
would 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 would 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 would 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 would 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 know 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.

Separately, the newly released appropriations legislation excludes language
that had been passed by either chamber earlier this year to let VA doctors
recommend medical cannabis to their military veteran patients in states
where it is legal.

The appropriations bill’s advancement comes amid a stepped-up push from
parties on both sides of the hemp debate to influence Congress as they
negotiated the deal.

For example, last week more than 50 alcohol distributors have joined
together to oppose efforts in Congress to ban hemp products with THC,
stressing to lawmakers that as demand for alcohol has “shifted downward,”
the cannabis market has helped sustain their industry.

Interestingly, there’s particular division among alcohol stakeholders, many
of which reported lobbying on hemp issues this year. There appears to be
disagreement over the path forward as it concerns wholesalers who
distribute alcohol and hemp products and major brands marketing their own
beverages.

A leading consumer trade association that counts among its members
corporations such as Coca-Cola, General Mills, Kraft Heinz and Nestlé is
also putting pressure on Congress to ban hemp products with THC.

Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of 39 state and territory attorneys general
recently called on Congress to clarify the federal definition of hemp and
impose regulations preventing the sale of intoxicating cannabinoid products.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D), who helped lead that letter
to congressional leaders last month, defended his decision amid criticism
from industry stakeholders and advocates who questioned why top prosecutors
from states that have robust regulated hemp markets such as Minnesota would
encourage the federal recriminalization of such products.

Two GOP lawmakers—Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD)—have
pushed aggressively for an outright ban on hemp products containing THC.
But others such as Paul have insisted that such a policy change would
devastate the industry. And Paul previously cautioned that he’d go so far
as to hold up large-scale spending legislation if a full ban was kept intact
.

The senator also pushed back against the recent letter from the state and
territory attorneys general who implored Republican leaders to fully
prevent the marketing of intoxicating hemp products.


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As far as legislative options go, Paul did put forward legislative language
recently to require a study and report on state regulatory models for hemp
that could inform future revisions to the federal law—rather than prohibit
sales altogether, as McConnell would have it.

In August, McConnell–who ushered in the federal legalization of hemp under
the 2018 Farm Bill–took to the Senate floor to criticize those who opposed
the ban, including Paul.

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.

*Read the letter from the alcohol companies on the hemp ban proposal
below: *

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