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Democratic senators have introduced a new bill to create a federal regulatory framework for hemp-derived cannabinoids and allow states to set their own rules for products such as CBD.<\/p>\n
The legislation, shared exclusively with Marijuana Moment ahead of its introduction on Wednesday, is being sponsored by Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR). It comes at a critical time for the industry, which is facing significant upheaval after President Donald Trump signed a spending bill last month that includes provisions to widely recriminalize consumable cannabinoid products.<\/p>\n
The senators\u2019 proposal would set THC limits on hemp products, allowing up to 5 milligrams per serving and a maximum of 50 milligrams per container across all types other than beverages. Hemp drinks could have up to 10 milligrams of THC per container.<\/p>\n
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would also be empowered to ensure that certain safety standards are met in the marketplace\u2014including making sure that products aren\u2019t marketed to children.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no question that more needs to be done to protect kids and consumers from unsafe, untested hemp products,\u201d Wyden told Marijuana Moment.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe learned from the failed war on drugs that a one-size-fits all approach that bans hemp products from the market outright does nothing to protect kids and consumers, and will be a gut-punch to thousands of jobs and small businesses across the country,\u201d he said. \u201cMy legislation takes the thoughtful and measured approach necessary to implement strong consumer protection regulations while fostering growth and innovation in this growing industry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Merkley said that \u201ca blanket ban on hemp harms research and the entire industry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cInstead, the FDA must establish clear, commonsense guidelines\u2014as it does for other foods, drinks, and products\u2014to protect the health of all Americans and prevent children from purchasing these hemp products,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The new bill, the Cannabinoid Safety and Regulation Act, represents something of a compromise between both sides of the hemp policy debate. Rather than impose an outright ban as is currently set to take effect next November, it would establish a regulatory pathway that many stakeholders view as a more sensible alternative that wouldn\u2019t threaten to dramatically undermine the industry.<\/p>\n
Businesses selling hemp cannabinoid items meant for human consumption would need to register with FDA and comply with the agency\u2019s safety regulations. Such products could not be sold to people under 21, and they would need to adhere to federal labeling requirements.<\/p>\n
The measure would additionally create a $125 million cannabis use prevention grant program under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), with the intent of preventing underage consumption of intoxicating cannabinoids.<\/p>\n
The bill specifically preserves the rights of states to set tighter regulations, including banning the products altogether as has played out in certain markets. States that allow the products would need to abide by federal packaging and labeling rules and they could not prevent companies from transporting hemp cannabinoids through their state regardless of their individual laws.<\/p>\n
As part of the labeling requirement proposed under the measure, all products would need to feature an internationally recognized symbol and statement identifying them as containing cannabinoids. States could use different symbols for intoxicating vs. non-intoxicating items.<\/p>\n
FDA would be required to promulgate rules on the remote sale, marketing and distribution of hemp cannabinoids to prevent youth use within 18 months of the measure\u2019s enactment. Within nine months, the agency would need to establish good manufacturing processes for such products. In general, FDA would have the authority to enact additional regulations on the sale and production of hemp cannabinoids if they serve public health interests.<\/p>\n
Hemp cannabinoids could be considered as, or included in, food items if they meet Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic (FFD&C) Act standards laid out in the bill. However, businesses couldn\u2019t sell cannabinoid products if they contain alcohol, tobacco or nicotine.<\/p>\n
Vapes containing cannabinoids could not have natural or artificial flavors, and they could contain no more than 6 percent terpenes.<\/p>\n
The bill states that synthetically derived cannabinoids would be banned, which is consistent with existing law but has generally gone without federal enforcement. For example, delta-8 THC products are commonly synthesized from legal CBD\u2014something the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has said violates statute\u2014but those products are still widely available in loosely regulated state markets.<\/p>\n
Wyden\u2019s measure also adds a definition for what constitutes total THC content, a measurement that determines whether a product is considered federally legal hemp or illegal marijuana. The Farm Bill defines hemp as cannabis containing up to 0.3 percent THC by dry weight, and that\u2019s conventionally been understood to refer to the most commonly known intoxicating cannabinoid delta-9 THC. The new legislation stipulates that THC refers to the total content of the cannabinoid in all forms, including delta-8, delta-9, delta-10, THC-A and HHC, for example.<\/p>\n
Additionally, the heads of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), FDA, Justice Department and Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) would be required to work together to create a report with recommendations on regulating the sale of beverages containing THC.<\/p>\n
The legislation also provides for mandatory recalls of any hemp cannabinoid products that FDA determines to be unsafe.<\/p>\n
On top of the regulatory provisions, the Cannabinoid Safety and Regulation Act further calls for a series of agency directives and appropriations and grant initiatives to support relevant public health objectives.<\/p>\n
That includes $200 million in annual appropriations over five years for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to support data collection on cannabis use trends and evidence-based prevention programs, mandatory data collection on impaired driving and $40 million in grants over five years for state agencies to combat driving under the influence and $30 million for research development to create a device capable of detected impaired driving.<\/p>\n
The bill is largely identical to a prior version of the hemp legislation filed last Congress<\/a>, with select changes.<\/p>\n Arguably the most notable revision is the imposition of THC limits for hemp products, which represents a departure from the earlier iteration of the proposal and seems to serve as a compromise agains the broad ban that is set to take effect next November under the newly enacted appropriations legislation.<\/p>\n Under the new measure, testing facilities would need to be approved at the state level and registered with either DEA, FDA or USDA. The previous bill stipulated that testing facilities could have either state or federal approval.<\/p>\n The earlier version of the measure also sought to create a new Center for Cannabinoid Products at FDA, which was removed from the current legislation.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are deeply grateful to Senators Wyden and Merkley for their continued leadership on behalf of hemp farmers, consumers and businesses,\u201d Jonathan Miller, general counsel at the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, told Marijuana Moment on Wednesday.<\/p>\n \u201cIntroduction of their bill is a key first step to developing consensus around a robust regulatory framework that can replace the impending ban,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are hopeful that Congress will extend the ban moratorium for at least another year to provide adequate time to consider, improve upon and resolve efforts such as Wyden\/Merkley.\u201d<\/p>\n Dawson Hobbs, executive vice president of government affairs for the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America, said in a press release from Wyden\u2019s office that the bill \u201cwould take steps to establish an effective framework to regulate the hemp market by requiring products to be tested and properly labeled and outlawing synthetic derived products.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis legislation would allow states to continue implementing their own standards while setting important baseline public safety standards and ensuring that these products are not readily available to children,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u2014 Meanwhile, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) recently released a report describing the significant uncertainty around how the pending federal hemp ban will ultimately be enforced<\/a>, but \u201cdivergent federal and state marijuana laws may provide some guidance,\u201d<\/p>\n Hemp was federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill that Trump signed during his first term, with then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) leading the push to end criminalization of the crop at the time. But the senator has insisted that the policy change wasn\u2019t intended to allow consumable products with THC, so he\u2019s been determined to close what he describes as a \u201cloophole\u201d in the law.<\/p>\n Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) attempted to remove the hemp ban language from the spending bill Trump signed last month, but a majority of members voted to table his amendment.<\/p>\n Industry stakeholders, advocates and lawmakers are stressing the urgency of the situation. While the hemp ban won\u2019t take effect until one year after enactment, that still leaves little time in the congressional calendar to reverse course or create an alternative regulatory framework for products set to be banned.<\/p>\n Paul, meanwhile, said last month that\u00a0he\u2019ll soon file a bill to protect the hemp industry from the impending hemp ban<\/a>. And he also called out alcohol and marijuana interests for allegedly \u201cjoin[ing] forces\u201d to lobby in favor of the prohibitionist policy change, which will restrict access to a plant and its derivatives that are often used therapeutically.<\/p>\n The senator said the forthcoming legislation would make it so state policy regulating hemp cannabinoid products\u2014with basic safeguards in place to prevent youth access, for example\u2014\u201dsupersedes the federal law.\u201d<\/p>\n On the other end of the debate, Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD), who helped secure the hemp re-criminalization language, said last month that he\u2019s not concerned about attempts to undercut the enacted law, brushing off arguments about the possible consequences of the policy change as \u201cdesperate mistruths from an industry that stands to lose billions of dollars by selling intoxicants to children.\u201d<\/p>\n Overall, there\u2019s been widespread outcry over the pending hemp re-criminalization law, drawing criticism from\u00a0parents of cannabis patients<\/a>,\u00a0veterinarians<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0influencers like Joe Rogan<\/a>, for example.<\/p>\n In response to the hemp ban, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) filed a bill that would\u00a0strike the contested provisions of the appropriations legislation<\/a>. But some stakeholders worry that approach could backfire, and they\u2019re hoping to see bipartisan bills introduced in he near future that would provide a robust regulatory model for intoxicating hemp products as a viable alternative to blanket prohibition.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, GOP political operative Roger Stone said last month that Trump was\u00a0effectively \u201cforced\u201d by Republican lawmakers to sign the spending bill<\/a>\u00a0with the hemp THC ban language.<\/p>\n However, a White House spokesperson said prior to the bill signing that\u00a0Trump specifically supported the prohibition language<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Democratic governor of Kentucky said last month that\u00a0the hemp industry is an \u201cimportant\u201d part of the economy that deserves to be regulated<\/a>\u00a0at the state level\u2014rather than federally prohibited, as Congress has moved to do.<\/p>\n Also, a leading veterans organization is warning congressional leaders that the newly approved blanket ban on consumable hemp products\u00a0could inadvertently \u201cslam the door shut\u201d on critical research<\/a>.<\/p>\n While many hemp stakeholders say the ban would effectively eradicate the industry\u2013even applying to\u00a0nonintoxicating CBD products that people use for medical reasons<\/a>\u2014there\u2019s latent hope that they can strike a compromise deal with lawmakers before the prohibition is implemented this time next year.<\/p>\n Lawmakers such as Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) also say that window could provide an opportunity to advance legislation to create an alternative regulatory model for consumable hemp products.<\/p>\n Since 2018, cannabis products have been considered legal hemp if they contain less than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC on a dry weight basis.<\/p>\n The new\u00a0legislation\u00a0specifies that, within one year of enactment, the weight will apply to total THC\u2014including delta-8 and other isomers. It will also include \u201cany other cannabinoids that have similar effects (or are marketed to have similar effects) on humans or animals as a tetrahydrocannabinol (as determined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services).\u201d<\/p>\n The new definition of legal hemp will additionally ban \u201cany intermediate hemp-derived cannabinoid products which are marketed or sold as a final product or directly to an end consumer for personal or household use\u201d as well as products containing cannabinoids that are synthesized or manufactured outside of the cannabis plant or not capable of being naturally produced by it.<\/p>\n Legal hemp products will be limited to a total of 0.4 milligrams per container of total THC or any other cannabinoids with similar effects.<\/p>\n Within 90 days of the bill\u2019s enactment, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other agencies will need to publish list of \u201call cannabinoids known to FDA to be capable of being naturally produced by a Cannabis sativa L. plant, as reflected in peer reviewed literature,\u201d \u201call tetrahydrocannabinol class cannabinoids known to the agency to be naturally occurring in the plant\u201d and \u201call other known cannabinoids with similar effects to, or marketed to have similar effects to, tetrahyrocannabinol class cannabinoids.\u201d<\/p>\n The language slightly differs from provisions included in legislation that had previously advanced out of the House and Senate Appropriations panels, which would have banned products containing any \u201cquantifiable\u201d amount of THC, to be determined by the HHS secretary and secretary of agriculture.<\/p>\n Read the full text of the new Senate bill<\/a> below:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Photo courtesy of Brendan Cleak.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Hemp Products Would Be Federally Regulated Instead Of Banned Under New Senate Bill<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Democratic senators have introduced a new bill to create a federal regulatory framework for hemp-derived cannabinoids and allow states to set their own rules for products such as CBD. The legislation, shared exclusively with Marijuana Moment ahead of its introduction on Wednesday, is being sponsored by Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR)Continue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":84726,"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\/84725"}],"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=84725"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84725\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":84727,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84725\/revisions\/84727"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/84726"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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