Conservatives in the Yellowhammer State are showing their support for a provision in the Senate funding bill that bans some intoxicating hemp products.
The provision is part of the Senate’s agriculture/FDA funding package tied to ending the shutdown. It is not yet final, it still requires U.S. House approval and the President’s signature.
U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) included language in the package that closes the “hemp loophole” created by the 2018 Farm Bill.
The legislation changes the definition of hemp from the previous Farm Bill language to preclude all but naturally occurring derivatives of hemp products with lower than 0.3% THC content by dry weight.
Specifically, the Senate text treats “total THC” (including delta-8, THCA and similar isomers) as counting toward the limit, excludes cannabinoids that are synthesized or “manufactured” outside the plant, adds a hard cap of 0.4 milligrams per container on THC-like cannabinoids in finished products, and provides a one-year implementation period before the changes take effect.
This change effectively bans intoxicating hemp products, delta-8 products, and synthetic products.
“Congress is thankfully ending its ‘accidental’ backdoor national legalization of cannabis/THC in the 2018 Farm Bill,” the Alabama Policy Institute said in a statement.
“Selling THC-laced gummies and drinks in convenience stores, grocery stores, and over the Internet while ignoring the considerable societal costs is a clear example of horrible federal public policy that landed squarely on state law enforcement and state legislators’ shoulders. Righting that wrong is the right thing to do.”
U.S. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) put forward an amendment that would have eliminated the hemp provision in the shutdown bill, but it failed to pass. The Senate tabled Paul’s amendment on a 76-24 vote.
“Yesterday, the U.S. Senate did what Alabama families have been pleading for: shut down the loophole allowing chemically altered intoxicants to masquerade as ‘hemp’ and be sold like candy,” the Eagle Forum of Alabama said in a statement.
Earlier this year, in hopes of fully eliminating these intoxicating, psychoactive THC products from Alabama communities, Eagle Forum of Alabama drafted and offered protective language for the Senate version of Alabama’s hemp reform bill, HB445. This language ensured that, if the federal loophole were ever closed, Alabama law would automatically align with federal protections. This federal action means Alabama is now positioned to follow suit and finally remove these dangerous products from store shelves.
“This is an enormous win for public health and for the safety of our children,” Becky Gerritson, Executive Director of Eagle Forum of Alabama, said. “For too long, these dangerous products have sat openly on store shelves targeting teens, harming kids, and blindsiding parents. Closing the loophole in federal law is essential, and I applaud the senators who stood firm against Big Hemp’s misinformation campaign.”
Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on X @Yaffee
