The Trump White House wants Congress to delay or stop the upcoming ban on hemp-derived cannabinoid products, as the president said in his Dec. 18 executive order and as a sponsor of federal hemp regulations introduced in the House of Representatives repeated earlier this week.
But if Congress can’t or won’t act and most hemp-derived products become illegal under federal law as scheduled on Nov. 12, the products may still be available – and regulated and taxed on the state level – just like state-legal cannabis.
That’s the current plan in Minnesota, as Eric Taubel, the director of the state Office of Cannabis Management, told the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Will hemp THC become a Schedule 1 banned drug?
If the deadline passes without a moratorium or regulations, and hemp products become Schedule 1 drugs, the current plan is for Minnesota to “continue regulating” the products as the state has done since 2022, Taubel told the Star Tribune.
Minnesota law allows for hemp-derived edibles with up to 5 milligrams of THC per serving. Hemp-derived beverages can have up to 10 milligrams of THC – and unlike other states such as California, hemp THC products can be sold at mainstream retailers such as Target and Total Wine & Spirits.
Even if the hemp ban goes into effect, it’s unclear who would enforce the ban – and whether the resources and willpower exist to do so.
In fact, both the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and federal Food and Drug Administration “may lack the resources” to police banned hemp, the Congressional Research Service found in December.
However, Taubel said, Schedule 1 status may discourage entrepreneurs from entering or staying in the hemp space, just as it has with cannabis.
Will hemp THC beverage sales continue if 280E applies to hemp?
Hemp THC purveyors would be subject to Internal Revenue Service Code 280E and face the same complications cannabis has with access to banking services, loans and insurance. That would eliminate many of the competitive advantages Farm Bill-compliant hemp operators have enjoyed.
“Individual businesses will make decisions about” whether to pivot into compliant products, Taubel told the newspaper.
That would include owners of small liquor stores and breweries, both of which have seen hemp-derived THC products boost revenue.
“Or do they fully get out of the hemp business?” Taubel asked.
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Will Congress or Trump stop the hemp THC ban?
As the Star Tribune reported, Congress has limited time to address hemp THC regulations, with the Senate scheduled to be in session for fewer than 30 days over the next four months.
That’s raising doubts that Congress will find time to consider the various bills introduced that would delay or reverse the ban – let alone debate and pass them.
The bills include:
- The Hemp Enforcement, Modernization and Protection (HEMP) Act, introduced in January by Republican U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith of West Virginia and Texas Democratic U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey, which is intended to be limited to CBD products.
- The Hemp Safety Enforcement Act, introduced in April by U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat, and U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, would allow states to simply opt out of the federal ban.
- The Lawful Hemp Protection Act, introduced Wednesday and sponsored by U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, a Kentucky Republican, and Minnesota Democratic Rep. Angie Craig, would tax and regulate hemp THC products on the federal level for the first time and set new product standards, such as a higher permissible THC content.
None of the bills have been called for a hearing, according to Congress.gov.
The hemp ban also promises to pose complications for a nascent reimbursement program that’s offering up to $500 a year to cover hemp treatments with federally subsidized healthcare.
The Trump White House hinted at that in its Dec. 18 executive order that led to April’s final Justice Department rule rescheduling medical cannabis.
According to the EO, the White House “shall work with the Congress to update the statutory definition of final hemp-derived cannabinoid products to allow Americans to benefit from access to appropriate full-spectrum CBD products while preserving the Congress’s intent to restrict the sale of products that pose serious health risks.”
