The hemp industry is railing against a provision in the Senate-passed funding bill that takes aim at the accessible sale of hemp-derived THC products.
On Monday, the Senate passed a funding bill that included a short-term continuing resolution to end the government shutdown as well as three longer-term funding bills for fiscal 2026. One of the funding bills focused on agriculture included a provision barring the unregulated sale of intoxicating hemp products in accessible places, like gas stations.
The Texas Hemp Business Council, an industry advocate, slammed the Senate for the move yesterday, pointing to its effects on hemp farmers.
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“We are deeply disappointed by Congress’ passage of H.R. 5371, the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2026, with restrictive hemp provisions that will eliminate the nation’s $28 billion hemp economy,” the council said in a statement.
The Senate-passed provision is in response to a loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill that led to booming sales of readily accessible hemp in corner stores across the United States. The new provision cuts back the currently legal threshold of hemp with less than 0.3% THC to a threshold of less than 0.4 milligrams of THC per container, using language advised by the cannabis regulation advocacy group Smart Approaches to Marijuana.
“By redefining hemp and imposing an unprecedented 0.4 mg total THC cap per container, Congress has effectively banned the vast majority of hemp-derived products that millions of adults and veterans have safely relied on since the 2018 Farm Bill,” the Texas Hemp Business Council said in a statement.
The council pointed to possible sweeping effects of the hemp changes in Texas and in other hemp-producing states, saying farmers would lose their markets, small businesses would be hurt, consumers would turn to illegal markets, and state regulations would lose out to the new federal ones.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) made an 11th-hour effort to prevent the cuts to the hemp industry, proposing an amendment to slash the hemp-banning language. However, the Senate rejected Paul’s amendment, with only Paul and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) voting in favor among the GOP senators, before moving forward with the full bill. Kentucky and Texas are among the top hemp-producing states in the U.S.
Cruz said he voted for Paul’s amendment as a stand for states’ rights, adding that he supports regulations to protect children from accessible hemp products by enforcing a purchaser age limit of 21.
“I have long believed that the regulation of hemp and marijuana products should rest with each individual state. Reasonable minds can disagree, and a blanket federal prohibition disempowers the voters in each of the fifty States. A one-size-fits-all federal standard will undoubtedly create unintended consequences that harm consumers,” Cruz wrote on X.
The council said Cruz, in his vote for Paul’s bill, “stood not just for Texans, but for farmers, small businesses, veterans and consumers across the country.”
The founder of Kentucky-grown Cornbread Hemp products, Jim Higdon, posted on X in response to the Senate’s passing of the deal with hemp-ban language, writing, “We aren’t done fighting this yet!”
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On the Kentucky side of the saga, the two senators of the hemp-producing state are on vastly different pages. While Paul advocated slashing the hemp-banning language, Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell helped secure it in the funding package, he said on the Senate floor Monday.
“The language I helped secure in the Agriculture Appropriations bill addresses a serious concern regarding the manufacturing and selling of unregulated, intoxicating THC products nationwide,” McConnell said. “It will keep these dangerous products out of the hands of children, while preserving the hemp industry for farmers. Industrial hemp and CBD will remain legal for industrial applications, such as seed, stock, fiber, grain oil, or used in drug trials.”
McConnell said his provisions simply close a loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill that allowed “bad actors” to sell intoxicating hemp without safety regulations. He has argued that children have mistaken accessible gas station hemp for snacks, speaking on the Senate floor in August in front of images depicting Delta-8 THC products that look similar to candy. McConnell received praise from the Kentucky Narcotic Officers’ Association in a statement on Monday.
“The Kentucky Narcotic Officers’ Association commends Senator Mitch McConnell for his continued leadership in working to close this loophole. Senator McConnell has long been an advocate for protecting children and supporting law enforcement efforts to keep our communities safe,” Executive Director Tommy Loving said.
Paul slammed McConnell’s efforts on the Senate floor yesterday, calling hemp a “new cash crop” for farmers and saying the proposed regulations would eliminate nearly 100% of existing hemp products.
“In my state, you can get a hemp drink with five milligrams of THC in it that will be illegal under McConnell’s rules. So he’s putting forward rules that actually contradict his own state’s rules. So it’s really contemptuous,” Paul said.
The funding bill still needs to clear the House of Representatives before the shutdown can end.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), a vocal fiscal hawk from the Bluegrass State, is largely expected to vote no on the funding deal, as he has rejected past stopgap measures. Massie told the Washington Examiner he supports Paul’s amendment to strike the hemp language.
“Kentucky benefits from hemp production, and I fully support Sen. Rand Paul’s efforts to strip the unrelated hemp ban from the Senate funding bill. I detest the tactics that are being used to try to get this ban enacted into law,” Massie said.
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Massie was already unlikely to vote to fund the government.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) ordered the House back in session by Wednesday as the lower chamber’s vote looms.
