Senator Secures Half A Million Dollars For Research On Hemp, Calling It ‘One Of The Oldest And Most Versatile Crops In Agriculture’

A Democratic senator is touting the inclusion of hemp research provisions she secured as part of a Senate-passed agriculture spending bill, calling the cannabis plant “one of the oldest and most versatile crops in agriculture.”

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) promoted the $1 million in funding that was incorporated into the appropriations legislation, designated for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Cereal Disease Lab. Half of that funding will specifically go toward research into industrial hemp fiber. The other half will go toward research to prevent crop losses caused by mycotoxins.

“This funding ensures Minnesota continues to lead in ag research and emerging crops like industrial hemp. This funding for the Cereal Disease Lab will help farmers expand markets and tackle the most pressing challenges they face in this uncertain moment through innovation,” Klobuchar said in a press release last week. “I will continue to work across the aisle to ensure this funding passes the House and is signed into law.”

The release states that the dollars secured through the senator’s amendment “will allow the lab to accelerate research that benefits Minnesota’s farmers and establish a new partnership aimed at improving processing of industrial hemp fiber.”

While visiting a hemp research lab at the University of Minnesota last week, Klobuchar said the $500,000 in funding that’d be implemented if the Senate bill is enacted into law would “improve opportunities for Minnesota’s industrial hemp growers by expanding processing opportunities and making their businesses more innovative and competitive.”

“You can make everything from flooring to insulation to shirts,” the senator said, pointing to a member of the audience who was wearing hemp-based clothing.

“It’s one of the oldest and most versatile crops in agriculture. The fiber is strong. It’s biodegradable. And it’s eco-friendly,” she said. “But in order for hemp fibers to be fully utilized, we need to invest in the processing technology. This is crucial for our farmers.”

“In Minnesota alone last year, there were 132 licensed hemp growers, 96 licensed processors and over 2,000 acres of industrial hemp planted last year. It’s a strong start, but we clearly have room to grow. Investments in infrastructure and key research into how to process fibers from the plant are needed to accelerate the growth. That’s why the funding is so critical. I was there when we made some exemptions to allow the growth of hemp on the [Senate Agriculture Committee], and now I want to be part of making sure that we’re making the smartest use of this industrial new research partnerships in Saint Paul, creating new world jobs and increasing access to a sustainable crop that can boost farm income. We still have work to do.”

The senator had filed two separate amendments on the issue, one of which would have devoted $250,000 to the hemp project and the other, which was adopted into the overall spending legislation, to earmark half a million dollars for the effort.

While Klobuchar’s amendment was incorporated into the spending bill covering Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration (AgFDA), another proposed revision from Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) that would’ve recriminalized consumable hemp products containing any “quantifiable” amount of THC did not make the cut.

That followed a procedural protest from Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who warned that the policy change would effectively “destroy” the hemp market that’s proliferated since the crop’s federal legalization under the 2018 Farm Bill.

Paul said recently that he has plans to meet with House lawmakers to “reach a compromise” on an approach to regulate hemp. McConnell has contested the idea that the legislation he sponsored would “completely destroy” the market, as Paul and industry stakeholders have insisted.

The hemp language in the Senate spending bill, prior to being removed, was nearly identical to what the House Appropriations Committee passed in June, with noted cannabis prohibitionist Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) leading the charge.

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, for his part, 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.

A leading alcohol industry association, meanwhile, has called on Congress to dial back language in the House spending bill that would ban most consumable hemp products, instead proposing to maintain the legalization of naturally derived cannabinoids from the crop and only prohibit synthetic items.

Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA) President and CEO Francis Creighton said in a press release that “proponents and opponents alike have agreed that this language amounts to a ban.”

Separately, key GOP congressional lawmakers—including one member who supports marijuana legalization—don’t seem especially concerned about provisions in the bill despite concern from stakeholders that it would put much of the hemp industry in jeopardy by banning most consumable products derived from the plant.

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Jonathan Miller, general counsel at the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, told congressional lawmakers in April that the market is “begging” for federal regulations around cannabis products.

At the hearing, Rep. James Comer (R-KY) also inquired about FDA inaction around regulations, sarcastically asking if it’d require “a gazillion bureaucrats that work from home” to regulate cannabinoids such as CBD.

A report from Bloomberg Intelligence (BI) last year called cannabis a “significant threat” to the alcohol industry, citing survey data that suggests more people are using cannabis as a substitute for alcoholic beverages such a beer and wine.

Last November, meanwhile, a beer industry trade group put out a statement of guiding principles to address what it called “the proliferation of largely unregulated intoxicating hemp and cannabis products,” warning of risks to consumers and communities resulting from THC consumption.

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