Politics
Trump ‘Supports’ Hemp THC Ban That’s Advancing In Senate, White House Says
President Donald Trump “supports” the proposed ban on hemp products containing THC that’s been included in a Senate spending bill, a White House spokesperson says as cannabis, alcohol and other interests continue their efforts to influence the final deal.
One day after the Senate cleared an appropriations package for floor consideration—with provisions that hemp stakeholders say would effectively eradicate the market—a White House staffer told NBC News that the president “supports the current language in the bill on hemp.”
While Trump endorsed cannabis reform on the campaign trail—including a pending proposal to reschedule marijuana–he’s also voiced concerns about non-medical cannabis use. During his first term, he signed the 2018 Farm Bill that federally legalized hemp and its derivatives, but he’s been less vocal about issue related to the cannabis cousin.
Now, eager for a plan to re-open the government amid a historic shutdown, the White House says he’s on board with the controversial ban, which is just one part of a major legislative package.
Marijuana Moment reached out to the White House for additional comment, but a representative was not immediately available.
Meanwhile, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) hasn’t thrown in the towel just yet, filing an amendment he’s asking leadership to allow to be considered that would strike the hemp language altogether.
But there are many competing voices weighing in on the issue, including a coalition of alcohol companies that sent a letter to senators on Monday imploring them to support the current language.
The American Distilled Spirits Alliance (ADSA), Beer Institute (BI), Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. (DISCUS), Wine America and Wine Institute said in the letter that Paul’s “shortsighted actions could threaten the delicately balanced deal to reopen the federal government.”
“Manufacturers of beverage alcohol, one of the most highly regulated consumer products, urge the Senate to reject Sen. Paul’s attempts to allow hemp-derived THC products to be sold devoid of federal regulation and oversight across the country,” it says. “We stand ready to work with Congress and the Administration to enact meaningful regulations that protect consumers and ensure a safe, orderly marketplace for these intoxicating products once this loophole is addressed.”
The alcohol companies separately pushed Congress to hold the line on the hemp ban in a letter to leadership last week.
Under current law, cannabis products are 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 would apply to total THC—including delta-8 and other isomers. It would 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 would 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 would 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 would 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 know 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.
Separately, the newly released appropriations legislation excludes language that had been passed by either chamber earlier this year to let VA doctors recommend medical cannabis to their military veteran patients in states where it is legal.
The appropriations bill’s advancement comes amid a stepped-up push from parties on both sides of the hemp debate to influence Congress as they negotiated the deal.
For example, last week more than 50 alcohol distributors have joined together to oppose efforts in Congress to ban hemp products with THC, stressing to lawmakers that as demand for alcohol has “shifted downward,” the cannabis market has helped sustain their industry.
Interestingly, there’s particular division among alcohol stakeholders, many of which reported lobbying on hemp issues this year. There appears to be disagreement over the path forward as it concerns wholesalers who distribute alcohol and hemp products and major brands marketing their own beverages.
A leading consumer trade association that counts among its members corporations such as Coca-Cola, General Mills, Kraft Heinz and Nestlé is also putting pressure on Congress to ban hemp products with THC.
Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of 39 state and territory attorneys general recently called on Congress to clarify the federal definition of hemp and impose regulations preventing the sale of intoxicating cannabinoid products.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D), who helped lead that letter to congressional leaders last month, defended his decision amid criticism from industry stakeholders and advocates who questioned why top prosecutors from states that have robust regulated hemp markets such as Minnesota would encourage the federal recriminalization of such products.
Two GOP lawmakers—Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD)—have pushed aggressively for an outright ban on hemp products containing THC. But others such as Paul have insisted that such a policy change would devastate the industry. And Paul previously cautioned that he’d go so far as to hold up large-scale spending legislation if a full ban was kept intact.
The senator also pushed back against the recent letter from the state and territory attorneys general who implored Republican leaders to fully prevent the marketing of intoxicating hemp products.
—
Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.
Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access.
—
As far as legislative options go, Paul did put forward legislative language recently to require a study and report on state regulatory models for hemp that could inform future revisions to the federal law—rather than prohibit sales altogether, as McConnell would have it.
In August, McConnell–who ushered in the federal legalization of hemp under the 2018 Farm Bill–took to the Senate floor to criticize those who opposed the ban, including Paul.
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.
Read the letter from the alcohol companies on the hemp ban proposal below:
