Democratic Senators Say Proposed Hemp THC Ban Would Deal A ‘Fatal Blow’ To The Industry

A coalition of Democratic senators are imploring colleagues to derail any attempt to ban all hemp products containing THC, asserting that it would deal a “fatal blow” to the industry that emerged during President Donald Trump’s first term.

While agriculture spending legislation that advanced in the Senate was stripped of provisions championed by Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) that would’ve recriminalized marketing of hemp with any quantifiable amounts of THC, Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) led a letter on Tuesday urging leadership to resist any effort to revive the proposal.

Specifically, they said the ban proposal would “decimate the American agricultural hemp industry and imperil states’ ability to prevent unsafe hemp-derived cannabinoid products from getting into the hands of children.”

“We ask to work with you and interested members to protect consumers by effectively regulating hemp-derived cannabinoid products instead of passing language that will instantly drive thousands of acres of crop value across America, including 3,900 acres in South Dakota, to zero,” the letter says, referring to the home state of Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD).

Acknowledging that the unregulated hemp cannabinoid market presents “safety concerns,” the senators said the language included in the original Senate bill would recriminalize “products currently prolific across the United States without any method to remove them from the stream of commerce.”

“Instead of this hurried attempt that will not achieve its worthy public health and safety goals,” the letter outlines alternative options to address the issue.

Specifically, the senators said there should be a regulatory framework that prevents the sale of hemp products to anyone under 21, codifies packaging and labeling requirements that prohibit marketing in a way that appeals to youth, bars “synthetic or artificially derived products” and mandates laboratory testing for consumable products.

“Despite regulatory inaction by the Food and Drug Administration in the years since, under the 2018 Farm Bill language, the hemp industry flourished and now supports 320,000 American jobs, generates $28.4 billion in regulated market activity, and produces some $1.5 billion in state tax revenue,” the letter says.

The proposed ban from McConnell “falls short of a real solution,” senators wrote.

“If this language were to become law, it would deal a fatal blow to the American farmers who are the foundation of the regulated hemp industry, and jeopardize tens of billions of dollars in economic activity around the country. Let’s work together to regulate these products–building on this opportunity for economic growth for farmers while improving consumer safety and protecting kids, instead of re-criminalizing a crop to regulate finished products.”

“Re-criminalizing cannabinoid products cuts off one leg of the hemp market’s stool, and it will topple if this language is included in any final spending bill,” the senators continued. “Over 70 percent of hemp acreage is dedicated to cannabinoid production, according to the latest USDA data—and hemp even yields higher profits for farmers compared to corn or soybeans.”

Consumable hemp products have “significant demand from consumers across the country,” it says, adding that some military veterans “suggest these products have helped them reduce use of opioids.”

“By arbitrarily changing the definition of a crop to regulate finished products, Congress would effectively turn out the lights on America’s law-abiding hemp farmers and undermine ongoing work by our colleagues in authorizing committees and in states that have created regulatory frameworks for hemp products. For these reasons, we strongly urge you to maintain the removal of this language from the FY26 Ag-FDA Appropriations Bill and any final FY26 appropriations bill, and instead work with us to regulate finished products to protect consumers and effectively keep hemp-derived cannabinoid products out of the hands of kids. We will continue to stand up for American hemp farmers and small businesses and oppose efforts to include this language in any bill.”

Other signatories on the letter include Sens. Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Michael Bennet, (D-CO) Martin Heinrich, (D-NM) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).

Meanwhile, a GOP senator recently said that if Congress moves forward with a proposal to ban hemp products with any amount of THC, nobody is going to buy the remaining CBD preparations—in large part because “even a little bit” of the intoxicating cannabinoid makes an important difference for health effects.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has made abundantly clear that he’s opposed to the blanket ban on hemp THC products that have been proposed in both chambers this session. And while he’s in favor of increasing regulations for the hemp market, he said that an outright prohibition would be disastrous for the industry.

Paul said last month that he has plans to meet with House lawmakers to “reach a compromise” on an approach to regulate hemp in light of his opposition to the THC proposal.

Part of that compromise, he said, is to address concerns he and other stakeholders have about vague language that leaves it up to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to determine what constitutes a “quantifiable” amount. Without specifications, the worry it that essentially all consumable cannabinoid products could end up being re-criminalized.

Paul successfully prevented the ban from being incorporated into a Senate agriculture spending bill recently passed by the body, with the senator pushing for regulations that he said would promote public safety while preserving the hemp industry that’s proliferated since the crop was federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill—a reform that McConnell played a key role in advancing.

But while McConnell has contested the idea that the legislation he sponsored would “completely destroy” the market, as Paul and industry stakeholders have insisted, he ultimately agreed to pull the language from the agriculture bill following Paul’s procedural protest.

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.

Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD), who championed a hemp THC ban in his chamber version of the agriculture spending legislation, told MEDCAN24 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.