- A provision in a government funding bill threatens to shut down the hemp industry.
- The bill would make nearly all current hemp products illegal by setting a low THC limit.
- Sen. Rand Paul argues the provision was added to a must-pass bill to avoid debate.
The funding bill to end the longest government shutdown in American history was not simply a “yes” or “no” to reopen the government. Tucked away in the bill, on page 163, in Title VII of Division B, was a provision to shut down the hemp industry. It wipes out the regulatory frameworks adopted by several states, takes away consumer choice and destroys the livelihoods of hemp farmers.
This could not come at a worse time for our farmers. Costs have increased while prices for crops have declined. Farm bankruptcies are rising. For many farmers, planting hemp offered them a lifeline. Hemp can be used for textiles, rope, insulation, composite wood, paper, grain and in CBD products, and growing hemp helped farmers to mitigate the loses they’ve endured during this season of hardship.
But that lifeline is about to be extinguished.
Nearly 100% of hemp products currently sold will be illegal
The justification for this hemp ban, we are told, is that some bad actors are skirting the legal limits by enhancing the concentrations of THC in their products. The hemp industry and I had already come to the negotiating table, in good faith, to discuss reforms that prevent “juicing up” hemp products with purely synthetic cannabinoids of unknown origin.
Dozens of states have already instituted age limits and set THC levels for such products. I have no objection to many of these reforms. In fact, during negotiations, I expressly stated I would accept a federal ban on synthetic THC, as well as reasonable per serving limits. All along, my objective was to find an agreement that would protect consumers from bad actors while still allowing the hemp industry to thrive.
But the provision that was inserted into the government funding bill makes illegal any hemp product that contains more than 0.4 milligrams of THC per container. That would be nearly 100% of hemp products currently sold. This is so low that it takes away any of the benefit of the current products intended to manage pain or other conditions.
Hemp products — and plants — are being targeted
There is no reason to wipe out the progress made by states that have been regulating hemp since it was legalized. Of the 23 states that expressly permit the sale of hemp THC food and beverages, not one of them has set a limit lower than the 0.4 milligram limit established by the bill.
For example, Kentucky, along with Minnesota, Utah and Louisiana, limits THC to 5 milligrams per serving. Alabama and Georgia allow 10 milligrams per serving. Tennessee allows 15 milligrams per serving. Maine allows 3 milligrams per serving. These state laws will be preempted and wiped out by this new federal 0.4 milligram restriction.
For reference, the illegal “juiced up” synthetic products that this funding bill is supposedly targeting are around 50 to 100 milligrams.
Hemp products aren’t the only things being targeted — it’s also the hemp plants themselves. The bill changes the current Farm Bill definition of hemp plants from .3 delta-9 THC to .3 total THC. In other words, crops already in the ground would be declared illegal. This rips the rug out from under American farmers, whose investments will be stripped away from them.
I will not stop advocating for hemp farmers and consumers
In true Washington swamp fashion, this hemp ban is not being debated on its own, on the merits. Instead, it is attached to a must-pass bill. Once again, Congress created a crisis, then conveniently used the crisis to jam through new laws without debate. Anyone that asks for a debate when these “reforms” emerge from behind closed doors is accused of obstruction by Congressional leaders.
I was able to force a vote in the Senate to remove the hemp ban, and while this effort was not successful on the first attempt, it will not be the last word. As farmers are forced to destroy their crops, consumers see empty shelves where their favorite products once sat and black markets emerge and thrive, the issue will not go away. And I will not stop advocating for farmers and consumers being targeted by a few members of Congress.
Rand Paul is a United States senator from Kentucky and the author of "The Case Against Socialism."