A last-minute provision in the federal spending bill is threatening the passage of the spending bill that is expected to end the historic government shutdown, The Guardian reports.
The provision heavily restricts hemp-derived products such as CBD and THC drinks. Kentucky is one of the country's largest hemp producers and Republican lawmakers in that state support the industry strongly.
“Kentucky is really ground zero for the rebirth of hemp," says Jonathan Miller, an advocate for the hemp industry and former Kentucky state treasurer.
On Monday night, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) broke with his party and voted against the bill because of the hemp provision, which, The Guardian notes, "was revealed at the 11th-hour and which Paul tried unsuccessfully to have removed."
Paul had successfully blocked the ban until it was added at the last minute, The Guardian says.
“First it was as part of the farm bill, and later was part of last year’s spending bill,” Miller says. "Fast forward to November, and the deliberations behind the scenes of the appropriations bill [mean the hemp provision] has been added to the minibus."
Miller says that Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) were "instrumental" in adding the provision, which, "criminalizes any product that has more than .4 milligrams of total THC per container."
"That’s basically zero," Miller says. "Ninety-five percent of hemp products have more than .4 milligrams.'
The new provision would ban THC in all forms and would also criminalize non-intoxicating CBD products with trace amounts of THC, Miller explains.
The bill will progress to a House vote as early as Wednesday, and needs 218 votes to pass, The Guardian says, noting that there are 219 Republican House members, but Kentucky representatives James Comer, Thomas Massie and Andy Barr have all spoken out against the ban.
Cameron Clarke, CEO of Kanha, which makes edibles for the regulated cannabis industry and the hemp market, tells the Guardian that he expects politicians have no choice but to cave to consumer demand for hemp products.
“Politicians don’t typically lead consumer preferences; they follow consumer demands,” he said.