Senate floats plan to save hemp THC but only for a month

Federal lawmakers could save the estimated $28 billion market for hemp-derived THC products the same way the industry became endangered – via a line item tucked into a last-minute spending bill designed to avoid or end a government shutdown.

Fulfilling at least in part a request from President Donald Trump to revisit restrictions on hemp-derived cannabinoids set to take effect in November, a key U.S. Senate committee on Sunday inserted language into budget legislation that would delay the ban for at least a month.

The stopgap would only become law if the Senate passes the bill, and, in turn, if it’s heard and passed in the House of Representatives and signed into law by the president.

But doing so would temporarily rescue the hemp sector, including the increasingly popular drinks sold at mainstream retailers and events like the Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago as well as the hemp CBD products that the Trump administration has offered limited coverage for via federally subsidized health insurance.

When is hemp THC due to become illegal?

In a redux of the brinkmanship last year that led to a 43-day shutdown, Congress appears headed toward yet another showdown over federal spending. The current budget bill that provides funding to keep the government running is set to expire on Dec. 11.

That’s when a federal redefinition of hemp would kick in – instead of the Nov. 12 date under current law – if a continuing resolution introduced Sunday in the Senate Appropriations Committee is passed by the full Senate, clears the House and is signed into law by the president.

Such a sequence of events “would be a landmark victory for the hemp industry – our biggest win since the 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp,” Jonathan Miller, chair of the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, said in a statement on Sunday.

It would also be a welcome development for at least some retailers in the alcohol industry, where hemp-derived THC beverages are proving a reliable and welcome revenue stream.

Do alcohol retailers want to save or ban hemp THC beverages?

In a statement Monday, The Beverage Alcohol Merchants Coalition (BAMCO), which represents hemp beverage-selling retailers including BevMo! and Total Wine & More, celebrated lawmakers “for their commitment to finding a consumer-focused solution.”

“The Senate Continuing Resolution creates an important opportunity to achieve meaningful hemp regulation,” BAMCO spokesman Jonathan Grella said in a statement.

“While significant work remains, BAMCO is committed to working with policymakers to establish smart, safe regulation for low-dose hemp beverages that protects consumers and provides long-term regulatory certainty.”

Hemp THC products are scheduled to lose federal Farm Bill protections and become controlled substances in November under a redefinition of hemp Trump signed into law last year.

There are several efforts afoot to delay or stave off the looming ban, but so far none have been heard in Congress.