Democratic senator backs GOP-led effort to keep hemp THC ban alive

A leading Democratic senator on Thursday signed onto a Republican colleague’s proposal to preserve a ban on hemp THC products, an issue that’s sowing discord between GOP lawmakers and President Donald Trump, who’s reportedly directly intervening on the endangered hemp industry’s behalf.

According to Punchbowl News, U.S. Sen. Kristin Gillibrand of New York on Thursday became the first Democrat to cosponsor an amendment from North Carolina Republican Sen. Ted Budd that would remove language delaying a federal ban on nearly all hemp products, currently set to take effect in November, from a must-pass spending bill.

U.S. hemp farmers and merchants have been living on borrowed time since last fall, when Trump signed into law a budget bill that would effectively ban most hemp products. A Senate committee on Sunday added language to a continuing resolution (CR) spending bill that would delay the ban for at least a month.

Doing so would require only 50 votes. The proposal cleared an initial hurdle earlier this week, but its ultimate fate Thursday looked far from certain, with GOP senators digging in despite the presidential intervention.

Does the US cannabis industry want to ban hemp THC?

In addition to sowing discord among Republicans, the situation is also deepening the divide between the U.S. cannabis and hemp industries. Cannabis lobbyists are finding themselves on the same side of the hemp THC question as avowed opponents of broader marijuana reform, including federal cannabis rescheduling.

“The Farm Bill loophole undermined state cannabis programs and allowed unregulated and synthetic drugs to proliferate, often for sale to kids,” Saphira Galoob, the CEO of the U.S. Cannabis Roundtable, a Washington, D.C.-based lobby, said in a statement provided to MJBizDaily.

“Congress voted overwhelmingly in November to put an end to ‘gas station weed,’” her statement added. “We’re strongly urging them to resist efforts to reopen this dangerous loophole.”

At the same time, some cannabis lobbyists seemed to soften on certain hemp-derived THC products, particularly popular hemp THC beverages.

In an appearance on The Dales Report podcast, Michael Bronstein, the president of the American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp (ATACH), signaled support for “naturally derived delta-9” THC products including “low-dose gummies and beverages.”

Will Congress save hemp THC from a looming ban?

In a redux of last year’s brinksmanship, the federal government is scheduled to run out of money in November.

That’s also when a redefinition of hemp under federal law that would close the 2018 Farm Bill’s so-called “loophole” on intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoid products is scheduled to take effect.

And like last year, when an amendment banning hemp-derived products with more than 0.4 milligrams of THC was tacked onto a spending bill, lawmakers are using the budget crisis to advance pet projects.

For lawmakers like Budd, that includes making sure that hemp THC products stay illegal – and resisting pressure from Trump.

According to Axios, the president called Budd on Tuesday night to lobby the senator to drop his push to keep the hemp ban alive, which also has support from fellow conservatives U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts of Nebraska.

There’s a growing feeling in Washington that the president did so to benefit the son-in-law of his chief of staff, Susie Wiles.

Wiles’ son-in-law, Bret Worley, owns a Texas-based hemp company called MC Nutraceuticals that’s in federal court over a $961,000 debt to one of its lenders, court records show.

Does Trump support hemp THC?

On Wednesday, Cotton castigated White House Director of Legislative Affairs James Braid for Trump’s backing of what Cotton called “gas-station marijuana candy,” Axios reported.

Budd dug in afterwards, taking to the Senate floor to accuse hemp companies of creating products that appeal to children.

“I am appalled by the well-oiled, slick lobbying machine –which is very well connected in this town – that has chosen to wage this surreptitious war against our efforts to protect American children,” he said.

“I have already had numerous conversations with the White House about this issue, and I am willing to have a larger conversation about marijuana,” he added, according to a transcript of his remarks.

“But I want to make sure one thing is perfectly clear – making THC intoxicating substances readily accessible to our kids is an entirely different issue from the medical marijuana movement.”

Is hemp THC legal in North Carolina?

Budd’s stance comes despite significant dissent over the hemp THC question in his home state.

Earlier this week, lawmakers in North Carolina, where an estimated $1 billion market for hemp-derived THC is the only non-tribal avenue for THC access, delayed a vote on a proposal that would ban the products at the state level.

They did so after hundreds of hemp THC merchants and advocates flooded the state capitol building to demand the products stay legal, WRAL reported.

That’s a demonstration federal lawmakers should heed, one hemp company operator warned.

“Lawmakers (are) constantly shocked how many people show up for hemp and how it grinds entire legislatures to a halt,” Adam Terry, the CEO of low-dose beverage company CanTrip, posted on X on Thursday.

Chris Roberts can be reached at chris.roberts@mjbizdaily.com.