The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee has approved a bill that would ban hemp-derived THC nationwide.
Hemp gummies.
The vote on the agricultural spending bill took place during a markup session today, with the committee advancing language that would drastically reshape the national hemp market and put an end to a multi-billion dollar hemp THC industry. The committee voted to delay implementation of the ban by one year.
The hemp THC amendment, which is backed by Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY), mirrors a provision passed last month by the House Appropriations Committee as part of its version of the agriculture spending bill. If enacted, it would prohibit all consumable hemp products with detectable THC levels—even those that are non-intoxicating, such as CBD oils and tinctures with trace amounts of the compound.
The move has drawn sharp criticism from hemp industry stakeholders, who argue that the proposed ban would effectively dismantle large sectors of the legal hemp economy that emerged following passage of the 2018 Farm Bill. That legislation, championed by McConnell, federally legalized hemp production so long as THC levels remained under 0.3% on a dry weight basis.
Supporters of the amendment contend that the explosion of hemp-derived THC products like delta-8 and THCA was never the intention of the original law. Still, the abrupt shift in policy has generated alarm among manufacturers, retailers and farmers who built businesses around hemp’s broad legal definition.
The committee’s vote sends the agriculture spending package, which includes the hemp THC ban, to the full Senate.
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