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A Republican-led US House committee has advanced a controversial spending bill that would redefine hemp under federal law, placing sweeping new restrictions on popular intoxicating hemp substances such as Delta-8 THC and many forms of CBD oils, a move that industry leaders say could devastate the $30 billion national hemp market.
The bill, introduced this week by the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies, passed its first hurdle with a narrow 9–7 vote on 5 June. It will now move to a full House Appropriations Committee hearing scheduled for 11 June.
If enacted, the measure would revise the 2018 Farm Bill’s definition of hemp, which currently permits products containing up to 0.3% Delta-9 THC by dry weight. In recent years, this ‘loophole’ has allowed the US intoxicating hemp market to surge.
The real size of the intoxicating hemp market remains difficult to quantify precisely, but according to Vicente Economics, we can get a glimpse of the wider picture based on monthly tax data from three states with specific hemp cannabinoid product taxes:
State
12-Month Sales
Annual Growth Rate
Per Capita Sales
Tennessee
$245.4 million
59.8%
$40.50/adult
Minnesota
$145.1 million
70.4%
N/A
Louisiana
Smallest market
25.9%
N/A
States across the US have been scrambling to enact legislation to crack down on this new industry, with many lawmakers equating these artificially produced substances to unregulated adult-use cannabis. However, these bills often overreach, and threaten many legitimate industrial hemp operations.
Under the proposed changes, the definition would shift to ‘total THC’, including THCA, the plant’s raw form of THC, and would specifically prohibit hemp-derived cannabinoid products with any ‘quantifiable’ level of intoxicating cannabinoids or any cannabinoids produced through synthetic conversion.
This language echoes previous failed attempts to restrict the market, including the so-called ‘Miller Amendment’ to last year’s Farm Bill draft.
When this amendment was first making its way through the legislature, the US Hemp Roundtable suggested it would wipe out 90-95% of the country’s hemp industry.
The organisation is now calling on its members to ‘stop this backdoor ban before it gains traction’.
Subcommittee Chair Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD), a vocal critic of cannabis reform, defended the new provision.
He said: “This legislation closes the hemp loophole from the 2018 Farm Bill that has resulted in the proliferation of intoxicating cannabinoid products, including Delta-8 and hemp flower being sold online and in gas stations nationwide under the false guise of being ‘USDA approved,’”
Aaron Smith, CEO and Co-Founder of the The National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) responded to the latest efforts to quash the industry federally, suggesting this would benefit ‘drug cartels’.
“Hemp-derived THC products are already widely available across the country. Despite legislators’ intent, this budget provision won’t change that fact, but it will ensure these products are made and sold without oversight, delivering a big win to the drug cartels at the expense of public health and safety. Congress should empower federal agencies to regulate these products responsibly, not double down on prohibitionist policies that have already proven to be failures both in practice and in the court of public opinion.”
“}]] A Republican-led US House committee has advanced a controversial spending bill that would redefine hemp under federal law, placing sweeping new restrictions on popular intoxicating hemp substances such as Delta-8 THC and many forms of CBD oils, a move that industry leaders say could devastate the $30 billion national hemp market. Read More
