As Congress continues to navigate a path forward on funding legislation to end an ongoing government shutdown, lawmakers are still at work attempting to reach a deal on federal hemp laws—with one GOP senator telling Marijuana Moment that multiple options are on the table, though it will ultimately come down to what leadership wants.
While hemp and its derivatives were federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill, there’s been a groundswell of interest within Congress and state legislatures to address what’s been described as a “loophole” in the law that’s allowed the proliferation of unregulated intoxicating cannabinoid products. That’s come to the fore amid debates over agriculture appropriations legislation.
Two GOP lawmakers—Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD)—have pushed aggressively for an outright ban on hemp products containing THC. But others such as Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) have insisted that such a policy change would devastate the industry. And Paul said recently he’d go so far as to hold up large-scale spending legislation if a full ban was kept intact.
“We’re trying to prevent them from killing, eliminating, the hemp industry—and we’re still working on the issue,” Paul told Marijuana Moment in a new interview on Thursday.
He
Read full article on Marijuana Moment
