Senators from a group are asking their colleagues not to ban hemp-derived products that contain cannabinoids via spending bills.
In 2018, Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, along with Mitch McConnell (then Senate Majority leader) and Rand Paul (then Senator), worked to ensure that hemp products were legalized at the federal government level. The language referred only to the delta-9 limit of tetrahydrocannabinol. THC is available in several forms such as delta-8, and delta-10. Both are intoxicating.
Although hemp naturally contains low levels of these compounds, cannabidiol can be manipulated to produce them. CBD is a cannabinoid that does not cause intoxication and hemp has a high level. Consequently, intoxicating hemp-cannabinoid products have flooded many US markets — and some federal lawmakers want them banned.
But Senators Wyden and Merkley, along with other several other senators, say such a ban would ‘decimate’ the USA’s hemp industry and impact on the ability of states to prevent unsafe products from getting into the hands of children.
The group’s letter suggests that legislation be passed to control such products.
- Restriction of the purchase and possession hemp products by adults aged 21 years or older
- Packaging and labels should be standardised to reduce the appeal of snack foods to children.
- Prohibit products derived from synthetic materials or substances.
- Tests by independent laboratories are required for all products derived from hemp that contain cannabinoids.
It is important to define the term “synthetic”. Some would say turning CBD into THC would qualify as ‘synthetic’ product. Some, like the Hemp Industries Association in the past, have claimed that the product would not qualify as’synthetic’ because there is no widely accepted US definition of the term.
This letter also claims that, under the language removed by the Senate in the FY26 Ag FDA Appropriations bill, a cannabinoid hemp product with 5 mg of CBD and 0.01 mg of THC would be again a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act.
“The language in the FY26 AgFDA Appropriations Bill, however, did nothing to protect non-psychoactive CBD products—yet another reason the Senate voted to strike this language from the bill in July.”
This is the full text for your letter can be viewed here.