The House Committee on Agriculture approved an amendment to the new Farm Bill that would effectively ban intoxicating hemp products nationwide, drawing strong opposition from hemp industry advocates who warn that could devastate the nascent market.
The amendment, introduced by Rep. Mary Miller, an Illinois Republican, seeks to change the definition of legal hemp to exclude products with detectable amounts of THC or any synthesized THC isomers.
The move comes amid a growing debate over how to handle intoxicating hemp products, which have grown into a multibillion-dollar industry with minimal regulation. Some marijuana companies and anti-legalization groups have pushed for Congress to close what they see as a “loophole” in the 2018 Farm Bill that allowed for the sale of hemp-derived products like delta-8 THC and THCA hemp, which can have psychoactive effects similar to marijuana.
The hemp industry, however, wants the federal definition of hemp to remain unchanged.
After the House Agriculture Committee spent 11 hours on Thursday marking up the Farm Bill, the fate of the hemp amendment still remains up in the air in ways. There was no roll call vote on the amendment. Instead, House Agriculture Committee Chairman G.T. Thompson grouped it with several other amendments and subjected them to a voice vote, which passed.
Reactions to the amendment and committee vote were mixed. Proponents argued the amendment was necessary to curb youth access and regulate a market that had spiraled out of control. But opponents warned the language would devastate the nascent hemp industry.
Rep. Van Orden, R-Minn., said, “Congress created this problem in the 2018 Farm Bill” and was now going to “destroy an industry that was allowed to be created legally,” putting “tens of thousands of Americans’ jobs at risk.”
Even within the hemp and marijuana industries, divisions remain. Some hemp advocates are pushing for more regulations on intoxicating products without an outright ban, while some of the biggest cannabis companies and brands are embracing hemp-derived THC products. Intoxicating hemp product habits have even made their way into medical cannabis channels as folks use the chemical cousins as stepping stones into the regulated industry.
Rob Pero, founder of the Indigenous Cannabis Industry Association, said in a statement that the amendment “poses a significant threat to the U.S. hemp industry and our communities’ interests in advancing wellness, industry, and economies.” He warned it would “effectively eliminate 90-95% of the hemp products market, jeopardizing the livelihoods of countless farmers, entrepreneurs, and Indigenous communities.”
SōRSE Technology, a water-soluble emulsion supplier for the industry, urged opposition to the amendment.
“Hemp has helped us deliver on that mission,” the company said in an email, referring to its efforts to make low-dose THC beverages accessible to consumers. “Please join us in fighting against this amendment to the Farm Bill.”
The company linked a portal for those able to complete a form provided by the U.S. Hemp Roundtable to send to lawmakers, telling the reader to share “with your networks and customers.”
In a statement, the national advocacy organization, which strongly opposed the amendment, called the Thursday vote “very dispiriting news.”
“This is especially disappointing because we were confident that on a roll call vote, we would win,” it said in a statement online. “We had been assured on several occasions by committee staff and the Chairman personally that they would not support any effort to kill the hemp industry. But unfortunately, the decision was made by the Chairman to use a procedural tactic to avoid a separate vote on the issue.”
The organization believes that even if the bill manages to pass the House, allies among Senate Democrats will hold the line.
The organization’s general counsel, Jonathan Miller, lobbied members of Congress before the hearing to vote against the amendment, calling it a “cynical effort that places government in the role of choosing winners and losers – killing one industry at the behest of its rivals.”
Miller said the measure would result in the “federal prohibition of 90-95% of all hemp products on the market” and “wreak havoc in the fiber and grain markets.”
“While we have for years strongly supported efforts to regulate hemp and CBD – even testifying to that effect before Congress – the Mary Miller Amendment throws the baby out with the bathwater, devastating a vibrant industry, killing tens of thousands of agriculture and retail jobs, and denying access to popular products that Americans count on for their health and wellness,” Miller said.
Hemp stakeholders vowed to fight interests supporting what Miller called “hemp-killing language,” as the legislation makes its way through Congress and state legislatures elsewhere. The battle lines have been drawn for a while now.
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