Senators Ask to Oppose Recriminalizing Hemp Products with THC
Last week, a coalition of Democratic senators asked colleagues to derail any attempt to ban all hemp products containing THC, asserting that it would deal a “fatal blow” to the industry that emerged during President Donald Trump’s first term.
While agriculture spending legislation that advanced in the Senate was stripped of provisions championed by Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) that would’ve recriminalized marketing of hemp with any quantifiable amounts of THC, Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) led a letter urging leadership to resist any effort to revive the proposal, according to Marijuana Moment.
Specifically, they said the ban proposal would “decimate the American agricultural hemp industry and imperil states’ ability to prevent unsafe hemp-derived cannabinoid products from getting into the hands of children.”
“We ask to work with you and interested members to protect consumers by effectively regulating hemp-derived cannabinoid products instead of passing language that will instantly drive thousands of acres of crop value across America, including 3,900 acres in South Dakota, to zero,” the letter said, referring to the home state of Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD).
Acknowledging that the unregulated hemp cannabinoid market presents “safety concerns,” the senators said the language included in the original Senate bill would recriminalize “products currently prolific across the United States without any method to remove them from the stream of commerce.”
Addressing the Main Issue with Hemp
Instead of banning all hemp products that contain trace amounts of THC, the letter suggested alternative options to address this concern. Specifically, the senators said there should be a regulatory framework that prevents the sale of hemp products to anyone under 21, codifies packaging and labeling requirements that prohibit marketing in a way that appeals to youth, bars “synthetic or artificially derived products” and mandates laboratory testing for consumable products.
“Despite regulatory inaction by the Food and Drug Administration in the years since, under the 2018 Farm Bill language, the hemp industry flourished and now supports 320,000 American jobs, generates $28.4 billion in regulated market activity, and produces some $1.5 billion in state tax revenue,” the letter said.
The letter also mentioned the significance of hemp products among consumers, stating that, “These products have significant demand from consumers across the country. Some veterans suggest these products have helped them reduce use of opioids.”
Other companies and organizations have also been coming together to voice their concerns over the potential ban of hemp products, including Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America.
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