Inesa Ponomariovaite (courtesy photo)
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I went to Washington earlier this year prepared to defend the estimated $28 billion hemp industry in America, which creates jobs and tax revenue.
I left wondering how Congress could threaten to erase livelihoods while knowing so little about the plant, the products, or the human biology involved.
I joined the National Cannabis Industry Association’s Lobby Days to ask lawmakers to reconsider federal restrictions scheduled to take effect in November – and that now might be delayed until December.
President Donald Trump is advocating for a reprieve, despite strong resistance from within his own party.
What is Congress doing about hemp products, including CBD and THC?
The looming restrictions would redefine hemp under federal law to exclude finished products containing more than 0.4 milligrams per container of total THC, THCA, and other cannabinoids deemed to have THC-like effects such as delta-8 THC.
That’s a threshold expected to make most existing hemp-derived cannabinoid products federally unlawful. We’re not just talking about hemp-derived THC beverages, which suck up much of the oxygen in the room when it comes to these conversations. Topicals, lip balms, and the hemp-derived CBD products available to seniors under a novel Medicare reimbursement program – all full-spectrum hemp products are at risk.
I knew we would encounter disagreement. I did not expect to encounter such a basic lack of understanding.
What does Congress know about hemp THC products?
During one meeting, a U.S. senator acknowledged knowing very little about the endocannabinoid system, the network of receptors and signaling molecules that helps regulate functions including sleep, mood, appetite, and immune response.
I appreciated the honesty, but the admission was also alarming.
A medical degree isn’t required to become a member of Congress. Our representatives, however, have an obligation to understand the subject before voting to dismantle businesses, eliminate jobs, and restrict products used by millions of Americans.
Ignorance is not acceptable, especially when paired with the power to legislate.
The most persistent misconception I encountered was that hemp-derived cannabinoids should be viewed almost entirely through the lens of intoxication. CBD, THC, and the many other cannabinoids found in hemp were repeatedly treated as though they were interchangeable.
Non-intoxicating wellness products were discussed in the same breath as high-dose intoxicating products, with little regard for formulation, dosage, manufacturing practices or intended use.
That is not serious policymaking.
Are hemp THC products going to become illegal?
Reasonable people can debate how intoxicating hemp products should be regulated. There are legitimate questions about age restrictions, marketing, testing, labeling and access. The industry has bad actors, just as the supplement, pharmaceutical, alcohol and food industries do. Those companies should be held accountable.
But regulating bad actors is not the same as flattening an entire category because Congress never bothered to learn the distinctions within it.
A broad prohibition will go beyond banning questionable products from gas station shelves. It threatens companies that have spent years investing in research, organic cultivation, responsible manufacturing, third-party testing and consumer education.
It threatens farmers, scientists, manufacturers, retailers and employees who built lawful businesses around the framework Congress itself created in the 2018 Farm Bill.
It also threatens consumers who rely on hemp-derived products as part of their health and wellness routines. Their experiences may not fit neatly into Washington’s political talking points, but they are real and deserve to be heard.
Congress invited entrepreneurs and investors to build this industry. People followed the law, created products, hired employees and developed supply chains based on the federal rules in place. Now many of those same businesses are being told the government may pull the rug out from under them: not because they broke the rules, but because lawmakers regret the rules they wrote.
That kind of policy whiplash sends a dangerous message far beyond hemp: Build at your own risk, because Congress may reverse course without understanding what it itself approved.
Will Congress regulate and tax hemp THC products?
My trip to Washington was disillusioning, but it was also clarifying.
The central problem is not that hemp is too scientifically complicated to regulate. The problem is that too many lawmakers appear willing to regulate it before doing the work required to understand it.
Congress should:
- Pause implementation of the new restrictions and bring scientists, healthcare professionals, farmers, responsible manufacturers and consumers into the room
- Establish enforceable national standards for testing, labeling, manufacturing, age restrictions and marketing
- Distinguish among cannabinoids, doses and product types instead of treating every hemp-derived product as the same threat
A blunt ban is what government reaches for when it has not done its homework.
Washington politicians often say they are protecting consumers. But protection without understanding is theater, not leadership. Americans whose livelihoods and well-being are at stake will pay the price.
Before Congress destroys a lawful industry it created, its members should learn enough to know what they are demolishing.
Inesa Ponomariovaite is the founder and CEO of Illinois-based Nesa’s Hemp, a wellness company focused on advancing quality, transparency and product integrity in the hemp industry.
