Senate extends temporary lifeline for hemp THC – and sets up fight with cannabis industry

Key points:

• The U.S. Senate voted early Saturday to extend a deadline for when hemp THC products become illegal until December.
• Supporters, including major lawmakers and the alcohol lobby, believe they can convince the House to also delay a ban and regulate the products
• Setting up a showdown between state-regulated cannabis and the hemp industry, cannabis industry forces pledged to lobby Congress to keep the hemp ban intact.

Operators and advocates in the estimated $28.8 billion hemp industry are confident the temporary lifeline offered by the U.S. Senate early Saturday means Congress will save popular products like hemp THC beverages from a looming federal ban.

But in a sign that the years-long simmering fight between state-regulated cannabis and – for now – federally legal hemp could boil over in Washington, cannabis industry lobbyists vowed over the weekend to spend the next month convincing House lawmakers to scuttle the reprieve and outlaw the products.

In the culmination of a weeklong drama that reportedly involved President Donald Trump personally intervening on hemp’s behalf, the Senate at around 3:30 a.m. Saturday morning passed a bill that includes language delaying until December a redefinition of hemp that makes most cannabinoid products illegal.

A separate vote to remove the hemp reprieve failed on a 61 to 32 vote.

The Senate adjourned for its five-week August recess afterwards.

Did Congress vote to save hemp THC?

As of now, hemp cannabinoid products with more than 0.4 milligrams of THC are still scheduled to become banned controlled substances on Nov. 12.

That’s unless hemp supporters can rally the House of Representatives to revisit the issue and pass its own delay when those lawmakers return Aug. 31. Hemp advocates, including some prominent senators, seemed confident.

“This gives Congress more time to find a solution, like the sensible safety rules in MN,” Minnesota Democratic U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a hemp support and a cosponsor of the ban delay, wrote in an early Saturday morning post on X.

Minnesota stands out among many other states with state-legal cannabis industries for its regulations allowing for hemp THC beverage sales at mainstream retailers big and small such as liquor stores and Target.

In contrast, California, still the country’s biggest state market despite shrinking sales, banned the sale of hemp-derived THC products outside regulated cannabis stores outright two years ago. Hemp advocates in other states such as Virginia and Texas are going to the courts to fight statewide bans there.

And in North Carolina, lawmakers last week delayed a contentious vote on their own ban after hemp advocates flooded the state capitol.

Is the alcohol industry lobbying Congress to save hemp THC products?

Hemp products, including so-called THCA flower and potent gummies with synthetically derived delta-8 THC as well as low-dose beverages and CBD wellness items, have been in a precarious position since last November.

That was when Trump signed a spending package into law that ended a government shutdown that also eliminated the legal loophole identified in the 2018 Farm Bill that led intoxicating hemp products to proliferate nationwide.

Exactly who would enforce the ban – and how – is still unclear. And keeping hemp products legal federally could become a moot point if most states ban the products.

In the meantime, a strong lobby appears to be coalescing around convincing lawmakers to at least keep low-dose beverages and CBD products available.

Supporters include Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz, whose agency launched a pilot program offering reimbursement for CBD products earlier this year as well as lobbies for the alcohol industry who see hemp beverages as a key revenue source.

“For hemp-derived THC beverages, we have an opportunity to build on proven safeguards from the beverage alcohol system,” Jonathan Grella, a spokesperson for the Beverage Alcohol Merchants Coalition (BAMCO), which represents retailers like Total Wine & More and BevMo!, said in a statement Sunday.

“For products that cannot be responsibly regulated within such a framework—particularly inhalables and synthetics—we agree with Congress that they should be prohibited,” he added.

Does the cannabis industry want to ban hemp?

However, cannabis lobbyists’ opposition to keeping any hemp cannabinoid products legal appears just as strong.

“During the August recess, House members will have the opportunity to hear directly from their constituents on whether unregulated and synthetic hemp products should be widely available for sale, including to minors,” Saphira Galoob, CEO of the US Cannabis Roundtable said in a statement provided to MJBizDaily.

USCR’s members include marijuana multistate operators Cresco Labs, Trulieve Cannabis Corp., and Curaleaf Holdings.

Added Galoob: “We are confident that Congress will ultimately get it right.”