A bipartisan group of U.S. representatives, including four from Kentucky, asked House Speaker Mike Johnson to oppose language that would close the hemp “loophole,” changing the definition of legal hemp to exclude hemp-derived cannabinoids.
GOP Rep. James Comer, Andy Barr and Thomas Massie signed the letter alongside their Democratic colleague Rep. Morgan McGarvey. Notably missing were Kentucky’s two other representatives in the U.S. House, Rep. Brett Guthrie and Hal Rogers.
The letter, dated Sept. 26, was sent less than a week after 58 Kentucky hemp farmers asked Sen. Mitch McConnell not to insert language that would ban certain hemp-derived products into an appropriations bill. The farmers asked for an in-person meeting with the longtime Republican senator, who attempted to insert such language into an agricultural spending bill.
Alongside the four Kentucky representatives, nearly two dozen other Republicans and Democrats signed onto the letter, ranging broadly in geography and politics. They say the new language “would deal a fatal blow to American farmers” who participate in the hemp industry, under the existing language.
The lawmakers note that the hemp industry generates $28.4 billion and $1.5 billion in state tax revenue. The letter also notes that 320,000 people are employed via the hemp industry.
McConnell blamed "bad actors" for his desire to change the definition of legal hemp. During an August floor speech, he said some companies have tried to “make a quick buck” by making intoxicating substances using the language in the 2018 Farm Bill. The legislation gave the states the power to regulate hemp and removed industrial hemp from the list of controlled substances, opening the door for products like Delta-8.
The Kentucky General Assembly has strengthened regulation on hemp-derived products, including beverages and synthetic Delta-8 THC products, for example by limiting the amount of THC per portion in hemp-derived beverages.
McConnell is now trying to reign in what he calls a “loophole” by blocking "quantifiable amounts” of THC in hemp products, although his effort was stripped from the Senate appropriations bill by fellow Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul. However, similar language remains in the House appropriations bill.
A spokesperson for McConnell told Kentucky Public Radio that he isn’t trying to change the THC limit in hemp.
“Under the language, industrial hemp and CBD products remain legal,” the spokesperson said.
The hemp industry disputes that argument, saying common non-intoxicating CBD products have natural traces of THC, endangering those products alongside the intoxicating products McConnell is targeting.
The lawmakers’ letter encouraged Speaker Johnson and the Republican-controlled Congress to consider a framework that ensures hemp products are only available to those 21 years and older, regulates packaging and informational labels and requires third-party lab testing.
“We will continue to stand up for American hemp farmers and small businesses and oppose efforts to include this language in any bill,” the letter reads.
