The hemp industry thought it still had a chance.
Congress had other plans.
Efforts to prevent a looming federal crackdown on hemp-derived THC products hit a major roadblock this week after the House Rules Committee blocked several proposed amendments that would have allowed lawmakers to vote on preserving parts of the hemp market.
The rejected amendments came from Republican lawmakers attempting to soften or delay a federal ban scheduled to take effect later this year. One proposal would have preserved many hemp-derived THC products while creating new labeling requirements and taxes. Another would have delayed implementation of the ban for two years. Neither proposal will receive a floor vote.
For the hemp industry, that’s a devastating development.
The federal government is preparing to close what critics call the “hemp loophole” created by the 2018 Farm Bill. That law legalized hemp containing less than 0.3% delta-9 THC, but it also unintentionally opened the door for a massive market in products containing delta-8 THC, THCA, hemp-derived beverages, gummies, vapes and other cannabinoid products that exist outside traditional state-regulated cannabis programs.
Supporters of the crackdown argue the market has become a largely unregulated source of intoxicating cannabis products, many sold in convenience stores and gas stations with minimal oversight. Critics counter that Congress is about to wipe out a multibillion-dollar industry, eliminate thousands of jobs and push consumers back toward illicit markets.
The political irony is hard to miss.
For years, Congress refused to legalize marijuana at the federal level while hemp entrepreneurs built a thriving cannabinoid industry under the Farm Bill. Now lawmakers appear poised to crack down on hemp-derived THC products while federal marijuana prohibition remains largely intact.
The result is a familiar pattern in cannabis policy: prohibition first, regulation later—if regulation comes at all.
With the Rules Committee blocking reform amendments and congressional leadership showing little appetite to revisit the issue, the odds of stopping the hemp THC ban before it takes effect appear increasingly slim.
For hemp businesses, the message from Washington is becoming clear:
The clock is running out.
Dabbin-Dad Newsroom
