Summary · why it matters
Congress has voted to close the loophole that allowed a $28 billion hemp-derived THC industry to flourish, and the short-term government-funding bill signed by President Donald Trump last month delayed the effective date of the "hemp THC ban" from Nov. 12 to Dec. 11 to give lawmakers more time to consider regulating the products rather than banning them. The ban, inserted by Kentucky Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell into the measure that ended the longest government shutdown in history, limits THC in hemp products to 0.4 milligrams per container. According to a report last month from Whitney Economics, the ban threatens to reduce retail revenues by $28.3 billion, displace 225,000 jobs and cut state sales tax potential by $2.1 billion. Industry owners such as Eric Zipperle and Jim Higdon of Kentucky's Cornbread Hemp, which has 105 employees, sells hemp beverages in 18 states and expects $65 million in revenue this year, say they could accept a 5 milligram cap but that the 0.4 milligram limit would destroy their business, while U.S. Hemp Roundtable general counsel Jonathan Miller says the cap is so low it would ban even some non-impairing CBD products such as topical lotions. The industry is pushing to restrict impairing products to people 21 and older, limit THC per package and ban imported cannabis compounds, with allies including alcohol retailers such as Total Wine & More and opponents including Smart Approaches to Marijuana and the regulated legal marijuana industry.
Target Corporation