Hemp ban set to be delayed a month after House passes funding bill

The House on Tuesday passed a short-term government funding bill that will buy the intoxicating hemp industry more time to fight off a looming crackdown on its products.

The continuing resolution, which funds the government through Dec. 11, passed in the House on a 370-48 vote — with 19 Republicans and 29 Democrats voting in opposition. The Senate advanced the measure by a landslide last month, and it now heads to the desk of President Trump.

The measure postpones for a month a federal ban on most hemp-derived THC products, including gummies and beverages.

The provision was inserted into the underlying legislation at the behest of the White House, which has made delaying or otherwise fixing the hemp ban a priority.

Hemp industry groups and their allies are touting Tuesday’s legislation as a significant win that will give them more time to convince lawmakers to regulate their products, rather than ban them.

“This extension gives us one additional month, and we intend to make every day count. We will continue working with lawmakers and stakeholders to advance a comprehensive federal framework that protects consumers, prevents youth access to intoxicating products, provides certainty for farmers and businesses, and preserves access to lawful hemp products,” the U.S. Hemp Roundtable said in an alert to members.

Some hard-line Republicans voted against the continuing resolution — and voted against a rule for four unrelated bills — because of objections to provisions the Senate had added, including the hemp ban delay.

Trump signed the ban into law last year as part of a broader spending bill to reopen the government after a record-long shutdown. It was set to take effect Nov. 12.

The hemp industry has been lobbying furiously against it ever since, arguing the law would collapse a multibillion-dollar industry.

The legislation closed what critics called the “hemp loophole , ” brought about by the 2018 Farm Bill, which removed hemp from the controlled substances list and opened up a massive new business environment.

“The hemp beverage industry looks forward to working with Congress to create a regulatory framework that protects public health, keeps products away from minors, and permanently removes the bad actors that sell untested, high-potency, copycat gummies and candies that target children,” Christopher Lackner, founder and president of the Hemp Beverage Alliance , said in a statement.

But the battle isn’t over, and some Senate and House Republicans have vowed to continue fighting along with representatives of the marijuana industry, which also opposes delaying the ban.

Chris Lindsey, vice president of policy and state advocacy for the American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp, said his group is “disappointed” in the delay — even if it was expected.

“Our sights are set on December,” he said. “The loophole empowers bad actors, threatens public health, and undermines state regulations. We urge Congress to end the scourge of ‘gas station weed.’”