Overview
- The Senate voted 60-40 to advance a funding package that includes Agriculture language targeting unregulated intoxicating hemp-derived products such as Delta-8.
- Paul has filed an amendment to remove the hemp language and is withholding consent to speed votes, a move that forces the chamber to run post-cloture time and additional procedural steps.
- The provision would redefine legal hemp and set a total hemp-derived THC limit of 0.4 milligrams per container, which supporters say closes the 2018 Farm Bill loophole.
- Backers include Sen. Mitch McConnell and appropriators, with Sen. Susan Collins citing support from 38 state attorneys general, and a White House official saying President Trump supports the current bill language.
- Hemp industry groups warn of major economic harm in states like Kentucky and Texas, and local reporting indicates a 365-day phase-in if the restriction becomes law.