The government might reopen. But only if Congress agrees to something else first: banning intoxicating hemp nationwide.
On Sunday, Senate leadership inserted a hemp-recriminalization clause into the must-pass funding bill that would end the longest shutdown in American history, reported Marijuana Moment. On Monday, Cannabis Business Times confirmed that intoxicating hemp is being targeted as part of the three-bill spending package tied to reopening the government.
Not a standalone bill. Not a debate on cannabis reform. A shutdown ransom note.
What the bill actually does
The hemp language appears in the Agriculture–FDA spending bill, which is bundled into the shutdown deal. It would:
- Redefine hemp to include total THC, not just delta-9 THC
- Count any cannabinoids with “similar effects” toward that THC total
- Prohibit synthesized cannabinoids or converted CBD intermediates
- Cap finished hemp products at 0.4 milligrams total THC per container
Not 0.4 mg per gummy. Per entire bottle, bag, vape, beverage.
That wipes out full-spectrum tinctures, hemp seltzers, delta-8 anything and even most CBD oils.
Jim Higdon, cofounder of Cornbread Hemp, told Marijuana Moment:
“The .4mg limit will make 100% of Cornbread Hemp products illegal.”
He added:
“This is a dark day for anyone who hopes for a future when cannabis is descheduled in America.”
Mitch McConnell’s U-turn
Senator Mitch McConnell pushed the 2018 Farm Bill that legalized hemp. Now he is pushing to shut down the intoxicating hemp market.
Update — November 10, 2025: Back in 2018, when hemp legalization passed, McConnell publicly celebrated it. In remarks entered into the Congressional Record on April 12, 2018, he said: “Our bill will finally legalize hemp and remove it from the list of controlled substances.” On the same day, Senator Ron Wyden added, “Hemp does not produce the high associated with marijuana. The only thing you are going to accomplish by smoking hemp is wasting your breath, wasting your time, and wasting lighter fluid.” Those statements directly contrast with McConnell’s 2025 argument that intoxicating hemp products were never the intent of the Farm Bill.
He said:
“My 2018 hemp bill sought to create an agricultural hemp industry, not open the door to the sale of unregulated, intoxicating, lab-made, hemp-derived substances with no safety framework.”
Thomas Winstanley, EVP and general manager of Edibles.com, responded in a statement sent to High Times:
“Senator Mitch McConnell, architect of the 2018 Farm Bill, sowed the hemp seeds, and now seeks to scorch the soil, salting the fields of his own harvest.”
He called banning legal hemp a move that would only push consumers into unregulated channels, writing:
“Banning legitimate hemp products won’t stop bad actors, it will only drive the market underground and further erode consumer safety.”
Also read: Big Alcohol’s Hemp Civil War: Brands Want A Pause. Distributors Want To Sell THC.
Rand Paul says the Senate will have to fight him for it
The other senator from Kentucky is not on board.
According to Politico, Rand Paul warned GOP leadership he would slow down the shutdown deal if hemp was targeted.
“I’ll vote no, but it’ll take them five days to pass this,” Paul said.
He also accused his own party of trying to “kill an entire industry.”
This is not theater. Paul has done it before: Cannabis Business Times notes that he previously forced Senate leaders to remove similar hemp-ban language in July by threatening to stall the funding package.
Two Kentucky senators. Both instrumental to U.S. hemp. Now they are fighting over who kills or saves it.
The economic hit
The numbers are heavy.
The U.S. Hemp Roundtable, in an official press release sent to High Times, states:
“The U.S. Hemp Roundtable condemns the latest proposed Senate language to recriminalize hemp products, a harmful decision by Congress that threatens to eliminate America’s $28.4 billion hemp industry and jeopardizes more than 300,000 American jobs.”
“If passed, this legislation would wipe out 95 percent of the industry, shuttering small businesses and American farms while costing states $1.5 billion in lost tax revenue.”
And:
“Our industry is being used as a pawn as leaders work to reopen the government.”
According to Lynnwood Times, intoxicating hemp represents over 80% of current industry revenue.
Adam Terry, CEO of Cantrip, summed up the consequences in the Cultivated Daily newsletter:
“Every state program that has codified Hemp products will shutter. Hemp farmers will go out of business. 330,000 Americans will lose their jobs. There is no ‘state legal’ hemp.”
Not everyone wants hemp saved
Parts of the regulated cannabis industry are cheering.
Chris Lindsey, director of state advocacy and public policy at ATACH, said:
“We applaud lawmakers for taking this critical step to clarify Congress’ intent in the 2018 Farm Bill. Willful misinterpretation of the Farm Bill led to the proliferation of unregulated synthetic THC products widely available for sale to minors.”
He argues that the bill creates clear lanes separating natural hemp, synthetic cannabinoids and cannabis sold in legal dispensaries.
Meanwhile, as High Times recently reported in Big Alcohol’s Hemp Civil War, the alcohol industry is split. Producer lobbies want intoxicating hemp removed until federal rules exist, while beer and spirits distributors want to keep hemp beverages legal and taxed like alcohol.
Because distributors are already moving hemp drinks.
To them, hemp THC is not a threat. It is inventory.
Veterans get cut out entirely
Another buried twist: The shutdown deal removed previously approved language that would have let VA doctors recommend medical cannabis to patients.
Marijuana Moment confirmed the provision was stripped.
The message to veterans is simple: Not now.
What happens next
- The deal would reopen the government until January 30, 2026.
- The hemp ban has a one-year countdown before enforcement.
- Rand Paul can force multi-day delays if leadership refuses to remove or modify the language.
If passed, brands have three options:
- Reformulate to fit the 0.4 mg limit
- Enter the regulated cannabis system
- Shut down
Congress says it is closing a loophole. The hemp industry says Congress is closing an industry.
Photo: Shutterstock