Politics
Minnesota Governor Is ‘Exploring’ How To Address Impending Federal Hemp THC Ban That Would Disrupt ‘Thriving Industry’
The governor of Minnesota says the state is “exploring” how to respond to an impending federal ban on hemp THC products, which would be “very disruptive” to a “thriving industry.” And a top GOP congressional lawmaker from the state is also reviewing options to “support consumers and provide industry stability.”
At a press conference on Wednesday, Gov. Tim Walz (D) was asked about the recent enactment of a spending bill that contains provisions to prohibit most hemp-derived cannabinoid products, which is set to take effect next November. Minnesota has been a focal point of the debate, as it was among the first states to establish comprehensive regulations for hemp beverages and edibles.
“We’re exploring it,” Walz said. “This was a surprise to everyone that this would be in there. I think we have a thriving industry. While it’s new, we’re starting to see now that our regulatory process and everything around—and this is, of course, on the cannabis side of things, but hemp-adjacent—where we’ve had the opportunities” to roll out a legal program.
“It’s very disruptive. So I think at this point in time, we certainly welcome that industry. We welcome the work that had been done,” the governor said. “And listening to the folks who are in this, this came out of left field to them. [They were] unprepared for it, and I think we’re still trying to understand what that means.”
At the congressional level, Majority House Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) said last week that he had a “good discussion” about “Minnesota’s hemp economy” with a state lawmaker, Rep. Nolan West (R), amid the pending ban.
“We’re working on ways to support consumers and provide industry stability, while holding bad actors accountable,” Emmer said.
Meanwhile, several Minnesota congressional Democrats said last week that they’re committed to preventing the collapse of the hemp industry after lawmakers passed the appropriations legislation banning the sale of most consumable THC products, stressing the need to “fix it” before recriminalization takes effect next year and laying out opportunities to achieve that.
At a press conference last week, Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN), along with Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), addressed the pending hemp prohibition, which they said should be corrected by replacing that policy with a regulatory framework similar to what Minnesota has implemented at the state level to prevent youth access and ensure product safety for adults.
Hemp was federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill that President Donald Trump signed during his first term, with then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) leading the push to end criminalization of the crop at the time. But the senator has insisted that the policy change wasn’t intended to allow consumable products with THC, so he’s been determined to close what he describes as a “loophole” in the law.
Minnesota congressional Democrats are committing to preventing the collapse of the hemp industry after lawmakers passed a now-signed spending bill banning the sale of most consumable THC products, stressing the need to “fix it” before recriminalization takes effect next year and laying out opportunities to achieve that.
And according to one lawmaker, it’s not just Democrats who understand the urgency to prevent the outright ban. A key GOP leader in the House is also “amenable” to advancing an alternative policy solution, she said.
At a press conference on Monday, Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN), along with Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), addressed the pending hemp prohibition, which they said should be corrected by replacing that policy with a regulatory framework similar to what Minnesota has implemented at the state level to prevent youth access and ensure product safety for adults.
Klobuchar, the ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, called this a “pivotal moment for many farmers, workers and small business owners who have built our state’s successful hemp industry.”
The senator touted the fact that she helped secure language in appropriations legislation that provides grant funding for the University of Minnesota to explore novel ways to utilize hemp for industrial purposes such as construction materials and pet bedding. At the same time, however, she said consumables like cannabinoid-infused beverages represent a “critical” component of the state’s economy that’s “creating jobs” and should be protected from federal interference.
“We are in a good position to try to do something to fix this,” she said. “That’s not easy to say in Washington right now, but we may have a Farm Bill that’s going to be coming through at some point. We’ll have other vehicles where we can do something to fix this.”
“A one-size-fits-all federal ban punishes our state for doing it the right way, while doing nothing to stop and regulate it or bad actors elsewhere,” Omar, co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus who has been rallying lawmakers to get behind the push for a hemp ban correction, continued. “That is just unsensible policy, and it encapsulates everything wrong with the current GOP-controlled Congress.”
Omar also said her office has also reached out to Republican offices within the Minnesota delegation and she conveyed that Emmer “understands just how much the industry is vital to the economy of Minnesota, so he’s much more amenable than the others.”
Hemp was federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill that President Donald Trump signed during his first term, with then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) leading the push to end criminalization of the crop at the time. But the senator has insisted that the policy change wasn’t intended to allow consumable products with THC, so he’s been determined to close what he describes as a “loophole” in the law.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) attempted to remove the hemp ban language from the spending bill Trump signed earlier this month, but a majority of members voted to table his amendment.
Industry stakeholders, advocates and lawmakers are stressing the urgency of the situation. While the hemp ban won’t take effect until one year after enactment, that still leaves little time in the congressional calendar to reverse course or create an alternative regulatory framework for products set to be banned.
Paul, meanwhile, said last week that he’ll soon file a bill to protect the hemp industry from the impending hemp ban. And he also called out alcohol and marijuana interests for allegedly “join[ing] forces” to lobby in favor of the prohibitionist policy change, which will restrict access to a plant and its derivatives that are often used therapeutically.
The senator said the forthcoming legislation would make it so state policy regulating hemp cannabinoid products—with basic safeguards in place to prevent youth access, for example—”supersedes the federal law.”
Meanwhile, Minnesota’s Democratic top prosecutor, Keith Ellison, was one of 39 state and territory counterparts who sent a letter to congressional leaders earlier this month that voiced support for the hemp provisions of the spending bill Trump signed. Ellison later defended his decision, in part by arguing that states with regulations in place for cannabinoid products like Minnesota should not have to worry about hemp entering their market from unregulated, out-of-state operators.
On the other end of the debate, Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD), who helped secure the hemp re-criminalization language, said last week that he’s not concerned about attempts to undercut the enacted law, brushing off arguments about the possible consequences of the policy change as “desperate mistruths from an industry that stands to lose billions of dollars by selling intoxicants to children.”
Overall, there’s been widespread outcry over the pending hemp re-criminalization law, drawing criticism from parents of cannabis patients, veterinarians and influencers like Joe Rogan, for example.
In response to the hemp ban, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) filed bill that would strike the contested provisions of the appropriations legislation. But some stakeholders worry that approach could backfire, and they’re hoping to see bipartisan bills introduced in he near future that would provide a robust regulatory model for intoxicating hemp products as a viable alternative to blanket prohibition.
Meanwhile, GOP political operative Roger Stone said this week that President Donald Trump was effectively “forced” by Republican lawmakers to sign the spending bill with the hemp THC ban language.
However, a White House spokesperson said prior to the bill signing that Trump specifically supported the prohibition language.
The Democratic governor of Kentucky said earlier this month that the hemp industry is an “important” part of the economy that deserves to be regulated at the state level—rather than federally prohibited, as Congress has moved to do.
Also, a leading veterans organization is warning congressional leaders that the newly approved blanket ban on consumable hemp products could inadvertently “slam the door shut” on critical research.
While many hemp stakeholders say the ban would effectively eradicate the industry–even applying to nonintoxicating CBD products that people use for medical reasons—there’s latent hope that they can strike a compromise deal with lawmakers before the prohibition is implemented this time next year.
Lawmakers such as Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) also say that window could provide an opportunity to advance legislation to create an alternative regulatory model for consumable hemp products.
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Since 2018, cannabis products have been considered legal hemp if they contain less than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC on a dry weight basis.
The new legislation specifies that, within one year of enactment, the weight will apply to total THC—including delta-8 and other isomers. It will also include “any other cannabinoids that have similar effects (or are marketed to have similar effects) on humans or animals as a tetrahydrocannabinol (as determined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services).”
The new definition of legal hemp will additionally ban “any intermediate hemp-derived cannabinoid products which are marketed or sold as a final product or directly to an end consumer for personal or household use” as well as products containing cannabinoids that are synthesized or manufactured outside of the cannabis plant or not capable of being naturally produced by it.
Legal hemp products will be limited to a total of 0.4 milligrams per container of total THC or any other cannabinoids with similar effects.
Within 90 days of the bill’s enactment, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other agencies will need to publish list of “all cannabinoids known to FDA to be capable of being naturally produced by a Cannabis sativa L. plant, as reflected in peer reviewed literature,” “all tetrahydrocannabinol class cannabinoids known to the agency to be naturally occurring in the plant” and “all other known cannabinoids with similar effects to, or marketed to have similar effects to, tetrahyrocannabinol class cannabinoids.”
The language slightly differs from provisions included in legislation that had previously advanced out of the House and Senate Appropriations panels, which would have banned products containing any “quantifiable” amount of THC, to be determined by the HHS secretary and secretary of agriculture.
