A bipartisan duo of lawmakers have filed a new bill in Congress that would exempt hemp beverages from a currently scheduled ban on THC products derived from the plant.
The legislation’s introductions comes days after the Senate voted to delay the planned recriminalization of hemp, which is intended to give lawmakers more time to craft regulations as an alternative to prohibition.
The Beverage Regulatory Parity Act, from Reps. Beth Van Duyne (R-TX) and Greg Landsman (D-OH), introduced on Monday, would establish a three-tier system for distribution of hemp drinks, similar to the model currently used for alcohol. It would allow adults over 21 to purchase and consume hemp THC beverages with up to 5 milligrams of total intoxicating THC per serving.
A draft version of the hemp drinks legislation obtained earlier this year by Marijuana Moment would have used a more permissive limit that measured delta-9 THC specifically.
Under the bill as introduced, there would be a new federal tax on hemp drinks of 8 cents per milligram of intoxicating THC—a reduction from the 10 cents contemplated in the earlier draft measure.
Hemp drinks would be regulated by the Treasury Department’s Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), the Department of Health
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