Industries stakeholders report that the senator, who pushed for the legalization of hemp at the federal level, is now trying to undo much of it by introducing legislation in this week’s hearing to prohibit consumables containing quantifiable levels of THC.
Several sources informed MEDCAN24 Tuesday that Mitch McConnell, the former majority leader of the Senate and the person who led the effort to legalize hemp as part the 2018 Farm Bill is the man behind the forthcoming legislation in agricultural spending that will effectively eliminate the market for consumable hemp products.
The text of the bill hasn’t been published yet, but there is a movement in the cannabis community to have it changed before Thursday, when it will be voted on by the Senate Appropriations Committee. McConnell’s Office did not reply to MEDCAN24 by publication time.
Two of the sources said that the hemp provisions will be identical to what the House Appropriations Committee passed late last month, with noted cannabis prohibitionist Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) leading the charge to correct what he’s described as a “loophole” in the Farm Bill that led to the proliferation of consumable—and in certain cases intoxicating—cannabinoid products such as delta-8 THC that have gone largely unregulated.
According to another source, McConnell realizes that the legalization of hemp will be part his legacy as a senator and wants the closing of the “loophole” which allowed for the proliferation intoxicating substances products in that past.
According to industry experts, the new language will not just prohibit controversial hemp products that are sold in gas stations and headshops throughout the United States. According to the House text it prohibits all products that contain any amount of THC. This could include CBD, as it is extremely rare for the THC content of the extract of this non-intoxicating cannabis cannabinoid to be zero.
Rand Paul, a Kentucky senator who is opposed to marijuana language that has been included in the House Agriculture Appropriations bill which will soon be on the floor of the House. He told MEDCAN24 that he believes the House agriculture appropriations bill, which is now headed to floor, would “completely destroy” the American hemp sector.
The senator replied, “I’m not sure how you could sell CBD oil using that.”
While Harris amended report language attached to the bill that clarifies it’s not the intent of the committee to stop people from accessing “industrial or nonintoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoid products with trace or insignificant amounts of THC,” the House bill itself still says that products containing any “quantifiable” amounts of THC couldn’t be marketed. CBD items with natural traces THC are rare.
While industry sources who are familiar with discussions have said that the Senate version would contain the same language as it is now, the text has not been made public and there’s a possibility it may be changed before the Thursday committee meeting. The same language would be cause for concern, and increase the chance that this bill could pass into law.
Paul has filed his own bill which would reverse Harris’s decision. He proposes a tripled concentration of THC in the cannabis crop, as well as addressing other concerns raised by the industry about federal regulation.
He introduced the Hemp Economic Mobilization Plan Act last month. This bill mirrors the versions he sponsored during previous sessions.
Hemp and its derivatives were legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill, but the industry has experienced multiple setbacks in the years since—and the proliferation of intoxicating cannabinoid products has led to pushes in Congress and state legislatures across the country to reign in the largely unregulated market.
Harris, for his part, told MEDCAN24 recently that he’s not concerned about any potential opposition in the Senate—and he also disputed reports about the scope of what his legislation would do to the industry.
Harris—who serves as chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies—also noted in the interview with MEDCAN24 that there “was no opposition [to the hemp provisions] “That was brought up in the committee.”
He also briefly weighed in on the Texas governor’s recent veto of a bill to recriminalize hemp products with any THC—simply stating that he’s “not paying attention to what a single state is doing” while he focuses on enacting the proposed federal ban.
The language in the congressional bill, meanwhile, would still effectively eliminate the most commonly marketed hemp products within the industry, as even non-intoxicating CBD items that are sold across the country typically contain trace amounts of THC. Under the current law, these products can be sold if they do not contain more than 0.3% THC in dry weight.
Harris’ proposed policy would change this dramatically. The proposed policy would maintain “industrial hemp’s” legal status under a new definition, which allows the sale and cultivation of hemp for fibre, whole grain oil, cake or nut, hull (or husk), microgreens, or other edible products made from hemp leaves intended for human consumption.
The Congressional Research Service, or CRS, released a report in December stating that legislation will “effectively prohibit” hemp-derived cannabinoid product. It was originally said that this ban would prohibit the sale of CBD products as well. However, the CRS updated its report to eliminate that wording for unclear reasons.
The hemp language is largely consistent with appropriations and agriculture legislation that was introduced, but not ultimately enacted, under the last Congress.
Hemp industry participants rallied to oppose that proposal. A previous version of the bill was also included as part of the base measure from last year’s subcommittee. 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.
The new version of the spending bill for 2026 has some changes, such as a change in what is considered a “quantifiable amount” of THC for hemp products.
It is now stated that a quantity can be quantified “based on the substance, the form, the manufacture or the article” (as determined the Secretary Health and Human Services, in consultation the Secretary Agriculture), whereas previously it was defined as a simple amount “determined the Secretary, in consultation the Secretary Health and Human Services”.
It is now specified in the proposed legislation that hemp doesn’t include any “drugs that are the subject of an approved application under paragraph (c) or subsection (j) section 505 Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (2 U.S.C. The proposed legislation also specifies that the term hemp does not include “a drug which has been approved under subsection (c) or (j) of section 505 of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (2 U.S.C.
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.”
“By pushing this rapidly-evolving industry into the darkness, Congress creates even more chaos on the marketplace. It undermines state initiatives and sanctions responsible actors,” said he. “We ask the House of Representatives to reconsider their approach. States can safely regulate intoxicating product through effective systems that protect consumer confidence and public safety. Congress should follow the states’ lead rather than override them.
Members of WSWA also met with lawmakers and staffers in April to advocate for three key policy priorities that the group says is based on “sound principles of alcohol distribution.” These include the banning of synthetic THC and setting up federal testing and labeling systems, as well as granting state power over retail sales.
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 of the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, told congressional lawmakers in April that the market is “begging” for federal regulations around cannabis products.
Rep. James Comer asked sarcastically, “Would it take a gazillion home-based bureaucrats to regulate CBD and other cannabinoids?”
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.
Brendan Cleak provided the photo.
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