Jeff Garland (right) tours the Papa G Organic Hemp Farm in Crawford County, Indiana, June 23, 2022. Jeff and his son started the farm in 2020. Left, Lee Schnell of the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service, which is part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. (NRCS photo by Brandon O’Connor)
WASHINGTON – Kentucky’s two U.S. senators argued this week over the future of the nation’s cannabis industry, with one arguing that a provision included in the package that reopens the government would close a problematic loophole, and the other arguing that the language would regulate the industry “to death.”
Senator Mitch McConnell ultimately prevailed and was able to keep the anti-hemp section of the farm appropriations bill that Senator Rand Paul had tried to remove during floor debate. Both are Republicans.
The appropriations bill is being prepared alongside the momentary spending bill that will end the government shutdown and is expected to be voted on in the House as early as Wednesday. The hemp measure has raised alarm in rural states that benefit from a strong hemp growing industry.
Hemp plants contain 0.3% or less of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, while cannabis or marijuana plants have higher concentrations of this substance, which causes users to feel “high.”
AND bill summary drafted by Senate Appropriations Chairman Susan Collins, the staff says the fresh language will prevent “the unregulated sale of intoxicating hemp-based products or hemp products, including Delta-8, on the Internet, at gas stations and in convenience stores, while preserving non-intoxicating CBD and industrial hemp products.”
This is what the US Food and Drug Administration did warning page on its website, it warns that “delta-8 THC products have not been evaluated or approved by the FDA for safe use in any context.”
The beginnings of Farm Bill
McConnell explained that he is focusing on hemp because its uses go beyond what was intended.
“I led the efforts to legalize industrial hemp through the 2014 pilot program and the 2018 Farm Bill.” McConnell said. “Unfortunately, companies took advantage of a loophole in the 2018 regulations by taking legal amounts of THC from hemp and converting it into drugs, then selling it to children in candy-style packaging and selling it in easily accessible places such as gas stations and convenience stores across the country.”
McConnell said the fresh rule, which won’t take effect until a year after the bill goes into effect, “will keep these dangerous products out of the hands of children while protecting the hemp industry for farmers.”
Paul and Oregon Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley urged their colleagues to remove the McConnell provision from the larger spending package, but to no avail.
“This is the most thoughtless and ignorant proposal to the industry that I have seen in a long, long time,” Paul said.
The fresh language would change the definition of legality for hemp, which Paul said would mean that “every plant in the country would have to be destroyed.”
“The THC per serving limit in this bill would make any cannabis product containing more than four milligrams illegal,” Paul said. “This would represent almost 100% of the existing market. This means an effective ban because the limit is so low that products intended to relieve pain or anxiety will lose their effect.”
State laws are said to have been overturned
He added that the legislation would have a negative impact on the nearly two dozen states that have set higher limits on hemp production.
“Currently, the state of Maine limits THC to three milligrams per serving. This will be repealed. My state limits THC to five milligrams in beverages; this will be repealed. Minnesota, Utah and Louisiana also have five milligrams per serving. Alabama and Georgia have 10 milligrams. Tennessee has 15 milligrams,” Paul said. “The bill before us invalidates all state laws.”
Merkley said the fresh provision in the larger spending package would eliminate the cannabis industry, which Congress moved to establish more than a decade ago.
“I support my other colleague from Kentucky who does not want narcotic products made from hemp,” Merkley said. “But the definition in this bill means much more and needs to be fixed. So it should be removed for now.”
Senate voted 76-24 to introduce or reject Paul’s amendment after McConnell decided to block its outright adoption.
The Agricultural Financing Act is one of three included in the Year-Round Government Expenditures Act momentary spending package it will end the government shutdown when the House approves it later this week and President Donald Trump signs the bill.
The Trade Group warns that hundreds of thousands of jobs will be affected
Hemp Industry & Farmers of America Executive Director Brian Swensen wrote in a statement released last week that McConnell’s provisions will have a devastating impact on the industry and its workers.
“Congress legalized hemp, Americans built the industry, and now Washington wants to pull the rug out from under hard-working farmers and small business owners. The industry wants a robust regulatory package to protect children, but instead Congress wants to impose industry-killing restrictions on cannabinoids. Congress is not listening to the industry it created – they are dismantling an industry that employs over 325,000 people and driving consumers to an unregulated, dangerous and untaxed black market.”
said John and Kara Grady, owners of Slappyhappy Hemp Company interview for the Missouri Independent. the fresh language could hamper their business, possibly forcing it to close.
“You feel sick all day long,” Kara Grady said, “knowing that your hard work isn’t in vain.”
Zack Kobrin, a Fort Lauderdale attorney at Saul Ewing who works in the hemp and cannabis industry, said Florida Phoenix that many in the industry “are surprised that it was such a sudden and radical solution.”
“I think those who are cowboys will just maximize their earnings until they can do it,” Kobrin said. “For those cannabis operators who have been trying to cooperate with regulators and follow the rules, I think this will be a real blow.”
