Hemp-derived products containing CBD – the non-intoxicating cannabinoid President Donald Trump proposed covering via Medicare last month – would be regulated under federal law for the first time if a bipartisan bill introduced in Congress on Thursday passes.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would set cannabinoid limits for hemp-derived products under the Hemp Enforcement, Modernization and Protection (HEMP) Act, sponsored by Republican U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith of West Virginia and Texas Democratic U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey.
The bill does not regulate cannabis.
While draft language appears to empower the health secretary to set THC limits, the bill’s intent is limited to CBD, according to a statement from Griffith’s office.
That’s still good news for the U.S. hemp sector, which is facing extinction under a ban Trump signed into law last November.
‘Meaningful progress’ on hemp product regulations lacking since Farm Bill
In a statement, Griffith bemoaned the lack of “meaningful progress at the federal level” despite “the ongoing confusion regarding the safety, consumption and sale of CBD-containing products.”
“I look forward to working with my colleagues, the Trump Administration and the FDA to perfect this bill.”
The bill seems destined to at least be called for a hearing, as Griffith chairs the House Subcommittee on Health.
Despite legalizing hemp cultivation and production via the 2018 Farm Bill, federal law is still silent on hemp products aside from a ban on hemp-derived THC products that Trump signed into law last year, leaving regulation up to the states.
President Trump’s Medicare coverage for CBD promise unfulfilled
Operators in the $28 billion U.S. hemp sector are, for now, in a state of uncertainty at best ahead of the ban, set to take effect in November.
Advocates for the hemp sector say the ban, which limits THC in hemp products to no more than 0.4 milligrams per package, also criminalizes most CBD products.
Those are the very products that Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, proposed covering for seniors beginning in April of this year.
But doing that would require more clarification from Congress, Washington observers say.
Federal hemp regulations would empower Cabinet to set CBD, THC limits
Under the Griffith-Veasey proposal, a draft of which was shared with MJBizDaily, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would be responsible for setting “total cannabinoid content” for “cannabinoid hemp products” that could be inhaled, ingested orally or used topically within 60 days of the bill’s passage.
But if Kennedy or his successor as health secretary does not act within three years, the bill sets automatic limits of:
- 10 milligrams of cannabinoids per serving and 50 milligrams per package for edibles
- 100 milligrams per serving and 500 milligrams per package for inhalable products
- 100 milligrams per serving and 500 milligrams per package for topical products
Those limits don’t specify which cannabinoid is subject to those limits, appearing to open the door to regulated hemp-derived THC.
‘First step’ to meaningful federal hemp regulations
That’s likely to be addressed in future amendments. Even hemp advocates said Friday the bill needs “substantive improvements.”
“While this first step is very important, there is much work yet to be done before final passage,” Jonathan Miller, chair of the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, said in a statement Friday.
Hemp advocates on Capitol Hill are pushing to at least delay the looming hemp-derived THC ban so that some federal regulations can be passed.
A push to include a pause on the hemp-derived THC ban in the temporary spending bill introduced Tuesday failed.
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