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GOP Senator Aims To Keep Hemp THC Product Ban On Track For November With New Amendment
A Republican senator wants to make sure that hemp THC products are federally recriminalized on time under a current plan that is set to go into effect in November.
Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC) announced on Monday that he will be filing an amendment to strip provisions out of a key spending bill released by Senate leaders over the weekend that aim to delay the scheduled hemp product ban.
Hemp derivatives with less than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC on a dry-weight basis were federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill that President Donald Trump signed during his first term in office. But late last year, the president signed new legislation containing provisions that will redefine hemp to make it so only products with 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container will remain legal after November 12.
On Sunday, leaders of the Senate Appropriations Committee released the text of a continuing resolution to extend funding for federal agencies through December 11, past the end of the current fiscal year on September 30.
Included in the legislation are provisions that will also delay the planned prohibition on most hemp products until December 11—although there is a carve-out that will allow the immediately recriminalization on November 12 of synthetic cannabinoids “that are not capable of being naturally produced by a Cannabis sativa L. plant.”
Budd said in a social media post that he will be “offering an amendment to the CR to strip out an extension of the hemp loophole to ensure unregulated, dangerous intoxicants are not sold, especially to kids.”
The text of the senator’s amendment has not yet been publicly released, and it’s not clear if or when it will receive a vote on the Senate floor.
The legislative vehicle that the Senate is using to fund the government and that includes the hemp ban delay provision, H.R. 6500, cleared a procedural vote on Monday and is expected to receive a vote on final passage this week after consideration of any amendments.
Budd has previously taken a number of other actions that are hostile to cannabis reform.
In December, for example, he led a letter signed by other GOP senators that urged President Donald Trump not to follow through with plans to federally reschedule marijuana, claiming it would “undermine your strong efforts to Make America Great Again and to usher in America’s next economic Golden Age.”
After Trump decided to move ahead with cannabis rescheduling, Budd told Marijuana Moment the president was “poorly advised” on the marijuana issue.
In January, Budd and another Republican senator filed an amendment that sought to block the Justice Department from carrying out the process of reclassifying marijuana under federal law.
In April, Budd introduced a bill that would require the federal government to track the cost of hospitalization due to marijuana use. The legislation’s language is similar to two amendments Budd previously filed on the cannabis and hospitalization issue that didn’t end up being considered on the Senate floor.
In 2024, Budd pressed federal, state and local officials on what steps they were taking to enforce marijuana prohibition as an Indian tribe prepared to launch recreational cannabis sales on its lands within North Carolina.
Meanwhile, the Beverage Alcohol Merchants Coalition (BAMCO), which represents major alcohol retailers, is supporting the move to delay the hemp product ban—saying it provides industry supporters with more time to convince Congress to “establish a responsible federal framework for low-dose hemp-derived THC beverages.”
BAMCO’s members include Total Wine & More, BevMo! by Gopuff, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits, Spec’s Wine and Spirits & Finer Foods, as well as a group of hemp product wholesalers. The group supports incorporating hemp THC drinks into the existing three-tier system for alcoholic beverages, along with new requirements for testing, labeling, marketing and taxation in tandem with flexibility for state regulations.
Other alcohol industry groups such as Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America have also backed regulating hemp products instead of prohibiting them.
Last month, the House of Representatives passed its own version of a continuing resolution to keep federal agencies funded into December, but it did not have any provisions to alter the planned hemp product ban. As such, if the Senate passes its new provision it would then still need approval by the other chamber before being sent to the president.
Meanwhile, a number of lawmakers from both chambers and both parties have filed or are circulating a growing number of bills to prevent the scheduled federal recriminalization of hemp THC drinks and other products later this year. Until now, none of those proposals have gained traction with congressional leaders.
For example, Rep. James Comer (R-KY), who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, is circulating legislation that would delay a planned federal ban on hemp THC products and institute some regulations—including packaging requirements, testing rules and age limits.
Separately, Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY), filed a lengthier proposal to prevent the federal recriminalization of hemp THC products and put in place a number of regulations for manufacturing, labeling, sales and taxation of hemp-derived products, including an age limit of 21.
A press release from the congressman’s office claimed that the White House supports the legislation, which is cosponsored by Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN), but the administration has not specifically endorsed it despite generally calling for hemp regulations and backing a prior similar amendment filed by Barr.
Trump and White House officials have in recent weeks repeatedly pressed Congress to delay, alter or reverse the ban.
In a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) last month, for example, White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought said the Trump administration wants lawmakers to “ensure the fair treatment of hemp products”—specifically citing Barr’s earlier amendment to keep many hemp products legal while adding regulations and taxes.
The administration “welcomes the opportunity to work with the Congress to, at a minimum, update the statutory definition of final hemp-derived cannabinoid products to allow Americans to benefit from access to appropriate full-spectrum CBD products,” OMB separately said last month, “while preserving the Congress’s intent to restrict the sale of products that pose serious health risks.”
Also in April, the president himself urged congressional lawmakers to again redefine hemp to avoid recriminalization of full-spectrum CBD products.
“I am calling on Congress to update the Law to ensure that Americans can continue to access the full-spectrum CBD products they have come to rely on, and that help them, while preserving Congress’s intent to restrict the sale of products that pose Health risks,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
“We must get this done RIGHT and FAST, especially for those who saw that CBD helps them,” he said. “Plus, I am told it will also help our GREAT FARMERS, who we love, and will always be there for.”
Industry advocates say that the law as enacted last year not only threatens to prohibit intoxicating and synthetic cannabinoid products but also stands to remove popular full-spectrum CBD products that many Americans use therapeutically from the market.
“ONE in FIVE adults used it in the past year, and many say it improved their chronic pain enormously,” the president said in his social media post, adding that hemp-derived CBD “has made a HUGE difference for so many people.”
He also referenced a new initiative the administration launched in April to cover up to $500 worth of hemp-derived products each year for eligible Medicare patients. The program being implemented by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) focuses largely on CBD but also allows products to have up to 3 milligrams of total THC per serving. A federal judge granted the government’s motion to dismiss marijuana legalization opponents’ lawsuit challenging the initiative, but that is being appealed.
“In December, I signed a very important Executive Order calling for Research and Innovation for Hemp-derived CBD,” Trump said. “Our wonderful Dr. Mehmet Oz moved fast to follow the directive in the Executive Order, and launched a model for some Seniors earlier this month. But more must be done!”
“Please get it done, and SOON,” the president said in reference to a congressional fix for the broad recriminalization set to take effect in November. “Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
The Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA), an alcohol industry trade association issued praise for Barr’s bipartisan hemp regulation bill, but said the measure’s tax provisions require “continued discussion.”
Hemp policy observers expect to see a Senate companion bill to Barr’s proposal filed soon, likely from Sens. Tim Sheehy (R-MT) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).
Sheehy recently cited hemp legislation as an area where Republicans and Democrats can work together in an otherwise “hyperpartisan time.”
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Meanwhile, a new poll from NuggMD found that most cannabis consumers say that state-level hemp product bans that lawmakers are enacting in line with the planned federal recriminalization move are causing them to shift their purchases toward licensed marijuana businesses.
The National Restaurant Association recently sent a letter urging congressional leaders to delay the federal recriminalization of hemp THC beverages and replace it with a regulatory framework that “ensures consumer safety while meeting growing market demand” for the products as an alternative to alcohol.
Major retailer Target, meanwhile, recently moved to expand its sales of hemp THC drinks into more states.
