A bipartisan Senate bill introduced Thursday would let states and Indian tribes opt out of a federal ban on hemp THC products taking effect November 12.
The 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp derivatives with less than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC by dry weight. Legislation Trump signed late last year narrows that definition: after November 12, only products containing no more than 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container remain federally legal.
The Hemp Safety Enforcement Act (S.4315), introduced by Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Joni Ernst (R-IA), would let states and tribes notify the U.S. secretary of agriculture of their intention to retain primary regulatory authority over hemp cannabinoid products. Opt-out jurisdictions must set a minimum purchase age, though the bill leaves the required age unspecified. Opting-out states and tribes may conduct interstate commerce with each other.
Paul said the ban would destroy a multi-billion-dollar industry and cut off consumer access to products for sleep, anxiety, and pain. Roughly half of states, including Kentucky, already regulate hemp with age limits, serving size caps, and testing requirements, he noted. Paul aims to attach the bill to the next Farm Bill through Klobuchar's seat on the Senate Agriculture Committee. "We're keeping our fingers crossed, but it's difficult for those in business right now, because it's a crop, it has to be planted, and if it's going to be made illegal in November, farmers are wondering whether they should plant it this year," he said.
Jonathan Miller, general counsel of the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, said in an interview: "Sen. Ernst is deeply respected for her agricultural experience. Her participation is an important statement that U.S. farmers are deeply at risk if the impending ban goes into effect."
The Trump administration launched a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) program covering up to $500 annually in hemp-derived products for eligible Medicare patients. Anti-marijuana groups sued to block it; lawyers for HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and CMS Director Mehmet Oz sought dismissal. The White House Office of Management and Budget is holding meetings on an FDA CBD enforcement policy, and FDA issued guidance against interfering with the Medicare hemp coverage plan. CMS also finalized a rule allowing certain hemp products as Medicare Advantage benefits.
Retailer Target obtained licenses from Minnesota regulators to sell lower-potency hemp products, including THC beverages, at all 72 of its Minnesota stores, expanding from a 10-store pilot program begun last year.
