Those Hemp-Based THC Drinks Are On The Verge Of Getting Banned

The bill would end the shutdown, but it would shut down a growing hemp industry.

WASHINGTON ― The government funding bill set to pass the Senate this week, likely ending the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, would outlaw certain synthetic cannabinoid products derived from hemp.

Congress legalized hemp in 2018, and entrepreneurs soon found a way to make intoxicating products from hemp by extracting or synthesizing tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the psychoactive component of the cannabis plant.

Top law enforcement officials in several dozen states last month asked Congress to crack down, saying “hemp-derived THC products ― often more potent than marijuana ― have flooded the market due to a misinterpretation” of the 2018 law.

The crackdown could be coming. The government funding bill that the Senate started moving on Sunday would ban “hemp-derived cannabinoid products” and “any other cannabinoids that have similar effects (or are marketed to have similar effects) on humans” as a regular THC product.

The ban, which would not take effect for a year, is tucked into broader legislation that would end a seven-week government shutdown, which has disrupted air travel, threatened food assistance for millions and forced hundreds of thousands of government workers to work without pay. The hemp provision of the bill has not been a major focus, except among certain lawmakers, including Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who has pressed Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) for a vote on an amendment to strip the provision.