![](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/MM_Bill_Tracker_V5_blank-51.jpg\"){kind=tracking}
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
A GOP congressman pushing for a federal hemp THC ban in a spending bill that\u2019s advancing in the House says he\u2019s not concerned about any potential opposition in the Senate\u2014and he\u2019s also disputing reports about the scope of what his legislation would do to the industry.<\/p>\n
Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) told Marijuana Moment on Wednesday that \u201cthe bottom line is that you have some bad actors who are taking advantage of a loophole in the Farm Bill to sell psychoactive substances,\u201d which was \u201cnot the intention.\u201d<\/p>\n
The congressman was referencing a large-scale agriculture bill that President Donald Trump signed into law during his first term that federally legalized hemp and its derivatives.<\/p>\n
The 2026 spending legislation that contains provisions to ban consumable hemp products with any quantifiable amount of THC advanced out of the House Appropriations Committee on Monday<\/a> and is now headed to the floor before potentially getting taken up by the Senate.<\/p>\n Asked whether he worried about pushback on the hemp language in the opposite chamber, Harris said, \u201cI don\u2019t think so.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think we very carefully drafted it,\u201d he said, adding that, \u201cI think there was some misunderstanding about the wording that some people said, somehow, any measurable amount [of THC] would result in it not being able to be sold. That\u2019s not what the legislation said.\u201d<\/p>\n But while a report attached to the legislation was amended to make that clarification, signaling that Congress doesn\u2019t mean to prohibit non-intoxicating consumable cannabinoids like CBD, the text of the bill itself hasn\u2019t been changed.<\/p>\n The relevant section would redefine the crop under federal statute in a way that would still prohibit cannabis products containing any \u201cquantifiable\u201d amount of THC or \u201cany other cannabinoids that have similar effects (or are marketed to have similar effects) on humans or animals\u201d as THC.<\/p>\n Harris\u2014who serves as chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies\u2014also noted in the interview with Marijuana Moment that there \u201cwas no opposition [to the hemp provisions] that came up in committee, that\u2019s for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n He also briefly weighed in on the Texas governor\u2019s recent veto of a bill to recriminalize hemp products with any THC<\/a>\u2014simply stating that he\u2019s \u201cnot paying attention to what a single state is doing\u201d while he focuses on enacting the proposed federal ban.<\/p>\n The language in the congressional bill, meanwhile,\u00a0would still effectively eliminate the most commonly marketed hemp products within the industry, as even non-intoxicating CBD items that are sold across the country typically contain trace amounts of THC. Under current law, those products are allowed if they contain no more than 0.3 percent THC by dry weight.<\/p>\n The proposed policy championed by Harris would drastically change that. It would instead maintain the legal status of \u201cindustrial hemp\u201d under a revised definition that allows for the cultivation and sale of hemp grown for fiber, whole grain, oil, cake, nut, hull, microgreens or \u201cother edible hemp leaf products intended for human consumption.\u201d<\/p>\n The Congressional Research Service (CRS) released a report last week stating that\u00a0the legislation would \u201ceffectively\u201d prohibit hemp-derived cannabinoid products<\/a>. Initially it said that such a ban would prevent the sale of CBD as well, but the CRS report was updated to exclude that language for reasons that are unclear.<\/p>\n The hemp\u00a0language\u00a0is largely consistent with appropriations and agriculture legislation that was introduced, but not ultimately enacted, under the last Congress.<\/p>\n Hemp industry stakeholders rallied against that proposal, an earlier version of which was also included in the base bill from the subcommittee last year. It\u2019s\u00a0virtually identical to a provision of the 2024 Farm Bill that was attached by a separate committee<\/a>\u00a0last May via an amendment from Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL), which was also not enacted into law.<\/p>\n There are some differences between the prior spending bill and this latest version for 2026, including a redefining of what constitutes a \u201cquantifiable\u201d amount of THC that\u2019d be prohibited for hemp products.<\/p>\n It now says that a quantifiable amount is \u201cbased on substance, form, manufacture, or article (as determined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture),\u201d whereas it was previously defined as an amount simply \u201cdetermined by the Secretary in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services.\u201d<\/p>\n The proposed legislation also now specifies that the term hemp does not include \u201ca drug that is the subject of an application approved under subsection (c) or (j) of section 505 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 355),\u201d which seems to carve out an exception for Food and Drug Administration- (FDA) approved drugs such Epidiolex, which is synthesized from CBD.<\/p>\n A leading alcohol industry association, meanwhile, has called on Congress to dial back language in the House spending bill that would ban most consumable hemp products, instead\u00a0proposing to maintain the legalization of naturally derived cannabinoids<\/a>\u00a0from the crop and only prohibit synthetic items.<\/p>\n Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA) President and CEO Francis Creighton said in a press release that\u00a0 \u201cproponents and opponents alike have agreed that this language amounts to a ban.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBy pushing a rapidly evolving industry back into the shadows, Congress is creating even more chaos in the marketplace, undermining state initiatives and punishing responsible actors,\u201d he said. \u201cWe urge the full House to reconsider this approach. States can regulate intoxicating products safely and effectively through systems that preserve consumer trust and public safety. It\u2019s time for Congress to follow their lead, not override their authority.\u201d<\/p>\n Members of WSWA also\u00a0met with lawmakers and staffers in April to advocate for three key policy priorities<\/a>\u00a0that the group says is based on \u201csound principles of alcohol distribution.\u201d They include banning synthetic THC, setting up a federal system for testing and labeling products and establishing state-level power to regulate retail sales.<\/p>\n Separately, key GOP congressional lawmakers\u2014including one member who supports marijuana legalization\u2014don\u2019t seem especially concerned about provisions in the bill<\/a>\u00a0despite concern from stakeholders that it would\u00a0put much of the hemp industry in jeopardy by banning most consumable products<\/a>\u00a0derived from the plant.<\/p>\n \u2014 Jonathan Miller, general counsel of the U.S. Hemp Roundtable,\u00a0told congressional lawmakers in April that the market is \u201cbegging\u201d for federal regulations<\/a>\u00a0around cannabis products.<\/p>\n At the hearing, Rep. James Comer (R-KY) also inquired about FDA inaction around regulations, sarcastically asking if it\u2019d require \u201ca gazillion bureaucrats that work from home\u201d to regulate cannabinoids such as CBD.<\/p>\n A report from Bloomberg Intelligence (BI) last year\u00a0called cannabis a \u201csignificant threat\u201d to the alcohol industry<\/a>, citing survey data that suggests more people are using cannabis as a substitute for alcoholic beverages such a beer and wine.<\/p>\n Last November, meanwhile, a beer industry trade group\u00a0put out a statement of guiding principles to address what it called \u201cthe proliferation of largely unregulated intoxicating hemp and cannabis products,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0warning of risks to consumers and communities resulting from THC consumption.<\/p>\n The LCB<\/a>\u00a0contributed reporting from Washington, D.C.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n House Votes To Let VA Doctors Recommend Medical Marijuana To Military Veterans And To Support Psychedelics Research<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The post GOP Congressman Behind Hemp THC Ban Says He\u2019s Not Worried About Potential Senate Opposition To The Proposal<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
A GOP congressman pushing for a federal hemp THC ban in a spending bill that\u2019s advancing in the House says he\u2019s not concerned about any potential opposition in the Senate\u2014and he\u2019s also disputing reports about the scope of what his legislation would do to the industry. Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD)Continue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":81945,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81944"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81944"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81944\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81946,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81944\/revisions\/81946"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nMarijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills<\/a> in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters<\/a> pledging at least $25\/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don\u2019t miss any developments.<\/strong>
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/MM_Bill_Tracker_V5_blank-50.jpg\"){kind=tracking}
<\/a>
\nLearn more about our marijuana bill tracker<\/a> and become a supporter on Patreon<\/a> to get access.
\n\u2014<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
\n
\nRead More: GOP Congressman Behind Hemp THC Ban Says He\u2019s Not Worried About Potential Senate Opposition To The Proposal<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"