Senate Spending Bill Would Federally Ban Intoxicating Hemp Products After One Year

Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell (R) is pushing federal lawmakers to change the 2018 Farm Bill — legislation that he championed while serving as the Senate Majority Leader — to close the federal “loophole” that allows companies to manufacture and sell intoxicating hemp products, Louisville Public Radio reports.

The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee advanced an agricultural spending bill Thursday that closely resembles another proposal in the House that would federally prohibit the sale of intoxicating hemp products. The Senate version, however, includes a one-year grace period for current hemp operators to pursue regulatory allowances for the industry.

According to McConnell, the Senate version of the bill “takes us back to the original intent of the 2018 farm bill and closes this loophole,” preventing “the sale of unregulated intoxicating lab-made, hemp-derived substances with no safety framework,” the report said.

Meanwhile, Oregon Sen Jeff Merkley (D) said he was grateful for the provision delaying the hemp product crackdown by one year, but he is still concerned the proposal would be devastating for the hemp industry, even for operators that produce CBD and other non-psychoactive products.

“There are other products that come from hemp, such as CBD, that has, in fact, been a significant factor as a health care supplement in many, many products across America that does not have a hallucinogenic effect,” Merkley said.

Notably, Kentucky’s other Republican Senator, Sen. Rand Paul, strongly opposes the effort to close the so-called hemp products loophole, arguing that doing so would “completely destroy the American hemp industry.”