Democratic Senators Urge Leadership to Protect Hemp Legalization in Government Funding Bills  

A group of Democratic U.S. Senators are urging the chamber’s leaders to protect hemp legalization in the government spending bill. In a letter to Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the eight senators wrote that they oppose “the inclusion of any language” in the bill “that would decimate the American agricultural hemp industry and imperil states’ ability to prevent unsafe hemp-derived cannabinoid products from getting into the hands of children.” 

In the letter, the senators point to language in the Agriculture-FDA Appropriations Bill which recriminalizes products they describe as “currently prolific across” the U.S. but lacks “any method to remove them from the stream of commerce.” The letter makes a direct appeal to Thune, saying the language would reduce the amount of hemp cultivation in South Dakota from 3,900 acres to zero. 

“By arbitrarily changing the definition of a crop to regulate finished products, Congress would effectively turn out the lights on America’s law-abiding hemp farmers and undermine ongoing work by our colleagues in authorizing committees and in states that have created regulatory frameworks for hemp products.” — Sens. Ron Wyden (OR), Jeffrey Merkley (OR), Angela Alsobrooks (MD), John Hickenlooper (CO), Cory Booker (NJ), Martin Heinrich (NM), Michael Bennet (CO), Chris Van Hollen (MD), in the letter  

The senators suggest, instead of a ban, language should be included that restricts the sale and possession of hemp products to adults over age 21; standardizes packaging and labeling to ban “look-a-like” snack products that are appealing to children; prohibiting synthetic or artificially derived products; and “requiring independent third-party laboratory tests for consumable hemp-derived cannabinoid products to ensure safety.” 

The letter notes that the hemp industry in the U.S. supports 320,000 jobs, generates $28.4 billion in regulated market activity, and produces $1.5 billion in state tax revenues.