Hemp farmers and industry advocates will have a challenging time stopping the planned federal recriminalization of hemp THC products that’s scheduled to take effect later this year, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) says.
But, he added, it will be easier to pass legislation on the issue next year when Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who led the push for the new ban, will likely be replaced by another Republican senator who supports keeping the crop’s derivates legal.
“I think the way Congress handled it and treated the hemp industry was really unfair,” Cruz said during a Zoom meeting with members of the group Hemp Industry & Farmers of America (HIFA) on Tuesday. “It wasn’t right, and it didn’t make sense. I think there are clearly abuses, and there are abuses that we need to be concerned about, but simply acting in a heavy-handed way to destroy another industry—that doesn’t make any sense.”
Hemp derivatives with less than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC on a dry-weight basis were federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill that President Donald Trump signed during his first term in office. But late last year, Trump signed new legislation containing provisions that will redefine hemp to make it so
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