House Committee Approves Farm Bill Amendment To Ban Most Hemp-Derived Cannabinoid Products Like Delta-8 THC
A key House committee has amended a large-scale agriculture bill in a way that would impose a general ban on hemp-derived cannabinoids such as delta-8 THC—with some industry stakeholders saying it could even federally criminalize many CBD products because the measure’s scope covers all ingestible hemp products with any level of THC.
If enacted into law, cannabinoids that are “synthesized or manufactured outside of the plant” would no longer meet the definition of legal hemp.
At the same time, the legislation that is set to advance through the House Agriculture Committee on Thursday also contains provisions that would reduce regulatory barriers for certain hemp farmers and scale-back a ban on industry participation by people with prior drug felony convictions.
Members adopted the cannabinoid ban amendment from Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL) as part of an en bloc package with other unrelated changes in voice vote. The overarching bill is expected to clear the committee later in the day before moving to the floor.
The move comes following a push from prohibitionists and certain marijuana companies who argued in favor of restricting the cannabinoid products, describing it as a fix to a “loophole” that was created under the 2018 Farm Bill that federally legalized hemp.
The ban’s adoption by the panel likely sets the stage for a showdown with the Democratic-controlled Senate, which has yet to release the full text of its version of the Farm Bill.
“My amendment will close the loophole created in the 2018 Farm Bill that allows intoxicating hemp products like delta-8 to be sold,” Miller said ahead of the vote. “These products are being marketed to children and sending hundreds of them to the hospital. We must stop teenagers and young children from being exposed to addictive and harmful drugs.”
Hemp industry stakeholders have recognized that there’s a need to address legitimate concerns related to the unregulated market that’s proliferated since hemp was federally legalized, but the solution they’ve put forward is to enact strategic regulations to ensure product safety and prevent youth access.
“While we have for years strongly supported efforts to regulate hemp and CBD–even testifying to that effect before Congress–the Mary Miller Amendment throws the baby out with the bathwater, devastating a vibrant industry, killing tens of thousands of agriculture and retail jobs, and denying access to popular products that Americans count on for their health and wellness,” he said.
Outside of the cannabinoid ban, the bill as drafted would build upon the federal legalization of the crop under the 2018 version of the legislation in several meaningful ways, including by revising the definition of hemp to create separate categories for producers who grow the crop for cannabinoid extraction for human and animal consumption and for “industrial hemp” producers who cultivate it for fiber, grain, oil and seed not intended for consumption.
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