Intoxicating hemp products remained in the crosshairs of the U.S. Senate on Nov. 9, when lawmakers struck a deal ahead of a procedural vote, 60-40, for a continuing resolution to reopen the government. Eight Democrats broke party lines to break a filibuster.
The government has been shut down since Oct. 1 as Republicans and Democrats clash over taxes, health care and other partisan issues.
The continuing resolution to reopen the government includes full-year funding for three fiscal year 2026 appropriation bills, including the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Related Agencies Appropriations Act; the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (MilCon-VA); and a legislative branch funding bill.
The Senate originally passed this three-bill “minibus” package on Aug. 1, but without any hemp industry-altering provisions.
The same can’t be said for the agricultural FDA spending bill that advanced on Sunday. The 141-page bill includes nearly $26.7 billion in nondefense funding aimed at supporting American farmers, rural communities, nutrition programs, medical research and other issues to protect the nation’s food supply.
As part of the Senate Appropriations Committee summary for the spending bill released on Nov. 9, one of four “key takeaways” was a hemp products ban.
The bill, if enacted, would prevent “the unregulated sale of intoxicating hemp-based or hemp-derived products, including delta-8 [THC], from being sold online, in gas stations, and corner stores, while preserving nonintoxicating CBD and industrial hemp products,” according to the summary.
As defined in the bill, any “intermediate” or “final” hemp-derived cannabinoid products would be separate from industrial hemp grown for fiber, grain or other purposes not intended for human or animal use.
Hemp-derived cannabinoid products intended for human or animal administration (inhalations, ingestion or topical application) could not contain synthetic cannabinoids or cannabinoids that were synthesized or manufactured outside the plant. Only cannabinoids that are “capable of being naturally produced” would be allowed.
Also, hemp-derived cannabinoid products could not have more than 0.3% total THC, including delta-9 THC, THCA or any other cannabinoids that have “similar” effects on humans or animals as determined by the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.
In addition, finished hemp-derived cannabinoid products designed for the end consumer could not have more than 0.4 milligrams total THC per container.
These provisions aim to close what many perceive as an unintended “loophole” in the 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized the commercial cultivation of hemp but also led to the proliferation of intoxicating cannabinoid products sold in unregulated retail settings nationwide.
When the Senate Appropriations Committee initially passed similar provisions in the agricultural spending bill in July, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he never intended to legalize hemp beyond its grain and fiber outputs when he championed the 2018 Farm Bill that President Donald Trump signed during his first term.
“My 2018 hemp bill sought to create an agricultural hemp industry, not open the door to the sale of unregulated, intoxicating, lab-made, hemp-derived substances with no safety framework,” McConnell said this summer.
Later in July, the U.S. Senate removed the hemp THC product ban provisions from the spending bill before the full body voted, 87-9, to approve it, because Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., threatened to hold up the entire funding package otherwise.
While the previous version of the legislation would have prohibited hemp-derived cannabinoid products containing “quantifiable” amounts of THC, THCA or other similar compounds, the latest version in the deal to reopen the government includes the provision to allow up to 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container.
The term “container” means the “innermost wrapping, packaging or vessel in direct contact with a final hemp-derived cannabinoid product,” such as jars, bottles, bags, boxes, packets, cans, cartons or cartridges.
While this allowance represents a favorable shift for hemp-derived cannabinoid product businesses, companies that manufacture and sell intoxicating hemp products in today’s market would have to overhaul or abandon their business plans.
The U.S. Hemp Roundtable (USHR), a hemp business advocacy organization, condemned the latest proposal, arguing that it would recriminalize hemp products and threaten to eliminate a $28 billion industry that provides 300,000 American jobs. If enacted, the provisions in the ag spending bill would “wipe out” 95% of the industry and result in $1.5 billion in lost tax revenue for states, according to the organization.
“Our industry is being used as a pawn as leaders work to reopen the government. Recriminalizing hemp will force American farms and businesses to close and disrupt the well-being of countless Americans who depend on hemp,” USHR General Counsel Jonathan Miller said. “We support Sen. Rand Paul’s efforts to push back on this language and will continue to fight alongside him for a regulated, safe and robust hemp industry.”
As part of the deal to end the shutdown, the federal government would be funded through Jan. 30, 2026, providing back pay to all federal workers, as lawmakers spend the next 2 1/2 months working out the specifics on longer-term funding packages for other programs.
However, the ag spending bill would include full-year funding under the deal, as would the MilCon-VA and legislative branch bills.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, worked to gain the support of Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the Democratic caucus’s top-ranking member on the committee, for this minibus package; however, Murray voted against the continuing resolution deal to fund the government through Jan. 30.
“I voted no on cloture on the motion to proceed because, as long as there is still any time left to reverse the MAGA health care hike, I believe we must do everything we can to force Republicans to the negotiating table – the fight for health care does not end tonight,” Murray said.
Collins, meanwhile, delivered a floor speech to applaud the negotiated deal on Nov. 9.
“One of the most unfortunate and shameful consequences of this shutdown has been that these vital nutrition programs were in jeopardy for our most vulnerable families, including 170,000 Mainers who rely on the SNAP program,” she said.
Before the government can reopen, any one senator can delay further consideration of the deal for several days, and Paul, who opposes restrictions on hemp, could be a possible roadblock – at least temporarily.
Politico reported that Paul warned his fellow Republicans last week that he’d prolong the Senate’s passage of a reopening package that included language to “kill an entire industry.”
Paul was the lone Republican who voted against the continuing resolution on Nov. 9, arguing it would increase the national debt.
Also, Paul plans to submit an emergency amendment to strike the intoxicating hemp product ban from the proposed funding bill, according to the USHR.
