A GOP-led House panel has approved a budget bill that includes provisions that hemp stakeholder say will destroy the industry. These include the prohibition of most products containing cannabinoids that were federally legalized under the Trump first administration.
In a unanimous vote, 9-7, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies approved the fiscal-year 2026 proposal. It was then sent to the whole committee.
The bill is 138 pages long and covers several issues. However, for the hemp industry there is a particular section that concerns them. That would be a definition of hemp that under federal law would prevent cannabis products from containing “any quantifiable amounts” of THC. Or “any other cannabinoids” that “have similar (or are marketed as having similar) effects” on animals or people.
Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD), chair of the subcommittee, said in opening remarks that the legislation “closes the hemp loophole from the 2018 Farm Bill that has resulted in the proliferation of intoxicating cannabinoid products, including delta-8 and hemp flower being sold online and in gas stations nationwide under the false guise of being ‘USDA approved.'”
The time has come for Congress to fix this problem and protect the legal industrial hemp business.
Even non-intoxicating hemp CBD products sold in the US contain trace levels of THC. According to current legislation, these products are permitted if they do not contain more than 0.3% THC dry weight.
Harris is a vocal opponent to marijuana reform. But the policy proposed by Harris and his subcommittee would change all that. 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, nuts, hulls, microgreens, or “other edible products made from hemp leaves intended for human consumption.”
A press release from Harris’s committee says the legislation “supports the Trump Administration and mandate of the American people by…closing the hemp loophole that has resulted in the proliferation of unregulated intoxicating hemp products, including Delta-8 and hemp flower, being sold online and in gas stations across the country.”
A markup of the bill before the House Appropriations Committee is set for Wednesday, June 11th.
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 included in last year’s base bill by the 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.
Jim Higdon told MEDCAN24 that if this amendment became law it would destroy the American hemp industry. It will also set back a decade of progress in the legalization of cannabis. Republicans and Democrats that believe in freedom, should stand up against Rep. Harris’s assault on American hemp producers.
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.
The definition has changed to “based on the substance, the form, the manufacture or the article” (determined jointly by the Secretary for Health and Human Services and the Secretary for Agriculture). Previously, it simply meant “determined in consultation between the Secretary and the Secretary for Health and Human Services.”
In the new proposed legislation, it is also specified that “any drug approved by the FDA under section 505 subsections (c) and (j), of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, 21 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.
Jonathan Miller, General Counsel of the U.S. Hemp Roundtable and MEDCAN24’s Wednesday vote ahead, said that while certain texts have been modified, “the legislation has the same intended effect which would prohibit the vast majority hemp products on the market.”
Miller stated that stakeholders were generally sceptical about the prospects of appropriations legislation moving forward in its present form due to unrelated disputes over different provisions. However, they still believed that this was “a dire situation, as it would have such devastating effects on farmers and consumers who take these products at face value for their health and wellbeing.”
Aaron Smith of the National Cannabis Industry Association, the NCIA’s CEO, said that products derived from hemp and containing THC are “widely available” across the nation.
He said that despite the legislators’ intentions, the budget provision will not change this fact. It is a sure way to ensure the sale and manufacture of these products without any oversight. This gives a huge win for the drug cartels, at the cost of the public’s health and safety. He said that Congress should allow federal agencies to responsibly regulate these products and not increase the prohibitionist policies, which are already failing in both public opinion and practice.
Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA) called the provision “troublesome” and “overly broad” in an email update to supporters, saying it will “undermine states across the country who have enacted critical regulations that govern intoxicating hemp products.”
Alcohol Industry Group: Congress must act to address the problem of hemp intoxication, but it should only target synthetic derivatives. States are explicitly given the power to regulate these products.
WSWA reported that, “In the lack of a federally-mandated regulatory system to govern intoxicating cannabis and protect public safety and health within the state’s borders, many states have filled the void. They passed comprehensive legislation” to control the drug and ensure the protection of the general population. The result has been the growth of a new, exciting industry in America that creates thousands of jobs. It also generates state revenue. Adopting the language in this bill will undermine state action and not eliminate those bad actors, who recklessly market potentially hazardous products.
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Separately, Miller 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?”
The consumable hemp product crackdown isn’t exclusive to the federal government, as multiple states—from California to Florida—have moved to ban intoxicating cannabinoids in recent months.
In Texas, the legislature recently delivered a bill to the governor that would outlaw all consumable hemp-derived cannabinoid products containing any detectable THC. Gov. Greg Abbott (R), however, has refused to comment on his plans.
Meanwhile, alcohol industry representatives descended on Washington, D.C. in April to urge members of Congress to create a federal regulatory framework for intoxicating hemp-derived products such as cannabinoid-infused beverages—a market segment that’s ballooned since the legalization of hemp through the 2018 Farm Bill.
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.
North Carolina Governor supports marijuana legalization, and creates a bipartisan committee to develop a plan
Kimzy Nanney is the photographer.
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