Politics
Hemp Industry Urges Trump To Stop Congress From ‘Reversing’ The Crop’s Legalization That He Signed Into Law
A leading hemp industry organization has sent a letter to President Donald Trump, applauding him for his role in legalizing the crop during his first term and imploring him to prevent Congress from “reversing” the reform by banning hemp products containing any amount of THC.
In the letter—which is being accompanied by an online petition to Trump that supporters can sign—the U.S. Hemp Roundtable said that when the president signed the 2018 Farm Bill that federally legalized hemp, he “ushered in a new era for the American hemp industry.”
“As hemp producers, farmers, consumers, and advocates, we are grateful and remain hopeful that your influence can save the $28.4 billion hemp industry that you helped make possible,” it says. “The recent video you shared about the extraordinary value of hemp products was important, raising awareness on the positive impact our American-grown and manufactured products have.”
That’s referring to the president’s social media share of a video from The Commonwealth Project that touted the health benefits of hemp-derived CBD, particularly for senior citizens.
“Here at the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, our members are focused on giving Americans choices in improving their overall health and wellness,” the letter says. “Unfortunately, the federal government hasn’t kept up. Despite a lack of federal regulation and clear guidelines, we’ve done the right thing with self-regulation and job creation, but now we need your help!”
“Congress is close to passing a hemp ban, reversing the work you led in 2018 to make hemp blossom,” it continues. “A proposed definition change to hemp, being touted as protecting Americans, would wipe out 95 percent of this uniquely American industry that you are so proud of.”
Bipartisan congressional lawmakers have raised similar concerns, with a recent letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) pushing back against attempts to ban hemp THC products. The members argued that such a policy reversal would “deal a fatal blow” to the industry and, as currently included in a spending bill, violates congressional rules. To that end, the members say there are plans in the works to introduce an alternative measure to regulate the market.
“A more effective way to protect American consumers and jobs would be to support and demand robust hemp regulation—age restrictions along with uniform testing, labeling, and packaging requirements,” the hemp association’s letter states. “Outright prohibition is not the answer, nor would it make anyone safer. Banning legal hemp products that are already regulated at the state level will not protect consumers; it would only shift hemp to the black market and destroy a rising American industry in the process.”
“Please help us save and properly regulate the powerful, impactful hemp industry. A ban would put American farmers, American businesses, American consumers, our veterans, seniors, and more than 328,000 American workers at risk,” it says, adding that in the red state of Texas, recent polling shows majority support for regulated hemp sales and increased likelihood of voting for candidates who back regulation over prohibition.
The related online petition from the U.S. Hemp Roundtable says the following:
“We, the undersigned, express our gratitude to President Donald J. Trump for showing his support for protecting the $28.4 billion American hemp industry. We ask that he work with Congress to ensure America’s robust hemp industry is not destroyed or banned. We support regulation to keep consumers safe and look forward to working with our elected officials to continue building this growing American industry.”
At the federal level, while the Senate ultimately stripped hemp THC ban language from its version of the agriculture spending measure following a procedural protest from Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), there’s still concern among stakeholders that it could wind up in the final package delivered to the president following bicameral negotiations.
Meanwhile, Democratic senators also sent a letter to leadership last month that warned of the major upheaval that would happen in the hemp market if products containing any amount of THC were banned.
“Consumer safety and protecting kids while promoting opportunities for national economic growth in the hemp industry can and must go hand-in-hand,” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), who led that letter with Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), said. “Congress needs to get serious about pursuing common-sense safeguards to protect kids and consumers and encourage innovation instead of a one-size-fits-all approach that hinders economic development and doesn’t keep kids safe.”
Dozens of hemp farmers from Kentucky also recently urged their state’s senior U.S. senator, McConnell, to back off from his push to recriminalize some products that are derived from their crops.
Paul, for his part, recently cautioned that the cannabis policy movement has “swung hard on the prohibitionist side” amid the ongoing debate over intoxicating hemp products. And he worries that, if things go awry, the hemp market could be decimated “within the next two weeks.”
Asked about recent conversations with McConnell and Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD), Paul said “we’ve been working diligently” with the staff “trying to reach a compromise.”
“A lot of the conversations have been constructive. They say, at least on the surface, they’re not trying to eliminate it—but I think we are, in some ways, talking past each other,” he said.
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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.
Harris, who championed the hemp THC ban in his chamber version of the agriculture spending legislation, told Marijuana Moment that he wasn’t concerned about any potential opposition to the hemp ban in the Senate—and he also disputed reports about the scope of what his legislation would do to the industry.
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) released a report in June stating that the legislation would “effectively” prohibit hemp-derived cannabinoid products. Initially it said that such a ban would prevent the sale of CBD as well, but the CRS report was updated to exclude that language for reasons that are unclear.
The hemp language is largely consistent with appropriations and agriculture legislation that was introduced, but not ultimately enacted, under the last Congress.
Hemp industry stakeholders rallied against that proposal, an earlier version of which was also included in the base bill from the subcommittee last year. It’s virtually identical to a provision of the 2024 Farm Bill that was attached by a separate committee last May via an amendment from Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL), which was also not enacted into law.
