2024 Farm Bill

House committee approves amendment to ban intoxicating hemp products

Published

1 year ago

May 24, 2024

The House Committee on Agriculture approved an amendment to the new Farm Bill that would effectively ban intoxicating hemp products nationwide, drawing strong opposition from hemp industry advocates who warn that could devastate the nascent market.

The amendment, introduced by Rep. Mary Miller, an Illinois Republican, seeks to change the definition of legal hemp to exclude products with detectable amounts of THC or any synthesized THC isomers.

The move comes amid a growing debate over how to handle intoxicating hemp products, which have grown into a multibillion-dollar industry with minimal regulation. Some marijuana companies and anti-legalization groups have pushed for Congress to close what they see as a “loophole” in the 2018 Farm Bill that allowed for the sale of hemp-derived products like delta-8 THC and THCA hemp, which can have psychoactive effects similar to marijuana.

The hemp industry, however, wants the federal definition of hemp to remain unchanged.

After the House Agriculture Committee spent 11 hours on Thursday marking up the Farm Bill, the fate of the hemp amendment still remains up in the air in ways. There was no roll call vote on the amendment. Instead, House Agriculture Committee Chairman G.T. Thompson grouped it with several other amendments and subjected them to a voice vote, which passed.

Reactions to the amendment and committee vote were mixed. Proponents argued the amendment was necessary to curb youth access and regulate a market that had spiraled out of control. But opponents warned the language would devastate the nascent hemp industry.

Rep. Van Orden, R-Minn., said, “Congress created this problem in the 2018 Farm Bill” and was now going to “destroy an industry that was allowed to be created legally,” putting “tens of thousands of Americans’ jobs at risk.”

Even within the hemp and marijuana industries, divisions remain. Some hemp advocates are pushing for more regulations on intoxicating products without an outright ban, while some of the biggest cannabis companies and brands are embracing hemp-derived THC products. Intoxicating hemp product habits have even made their way into medical cannabis channels as folks use the chemical cousins as stepping stones into the regulated industry.

Rob Pero, founder of the Indigenous Cannabis Industry Association, said in a statement that the amendment “poses a significant threat to the U.S. hemp industry and our communities’ interests in advancing wellness, industry, and economies.” He warned it would “effectively eliminate 90-95% of the hemp products market, jeopardizing the livelihoods of countless farmers, entrepreneurs, and Indigenous communities.”

SōRSE Technology, a water-soluble emulsion supplier for the industry, urged opposition to the amendment.

“Hemp has helped us deliver on that mission,” the company said in an email, referring to its efforts to make low-dose THC beverages accessible to consumers. “Please join us in fighting against this amendment to the Farm Bill.”

The company linked a portal for those able to complete a form provided by the U.S. Hemp Roundtable to send to lawmakers, telling the reader to share “with your networks and customers.”

In a statement, the national advocacy organization, which strongly opposed the amendment, called the Thursday vote “very dispiriting news.”

“This is especially disappointing because we were confident that on a roll call vote, we would win,” it said in a statement online. “We had been assured on several occasions by committee staff and the Chairman personally that they would not support any effort to kill the hemp industry. But unfortunately, the decision was made by the Chairman to use a procedural tactic to avoid a separate vote on the issue.”

The organization believes that even if the bill manages to pass the House, allies among Senate Democrats will hold the line.

The organization’s general counsel, Jonathan Miller, lobbied members of Congress before the hearing to vote against the amendment, calling it a “cynical effort that places government in the role of choosing winners and losers – killing one industry at the behest of its rivals.”

Miller said the measure would result in the “federal prohibition of 90-95% of all hemp products on the market” and “wreak havoc in the fiber and grain markets.”

“While we have for years strongly supported efforts to regulate hemp and CBD – even testifying to that effect before Congress – the Mary Miller Amendment throws the baby out with the bathwater, devastating a vibrant industry, killing tens of thousands of agriculture and retail jobs, and denying access to popular products that Americans count on for their health and wellness,” Miller said.

Hemp stakeholders vowed to fight interests supporting what Miller called “hemp-killing language,” as the legislation makes its way through Congress and state legislatures elsewhere. The battle lines have been drawn for a while now.

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2024 Farm Bill

U.S. Senate Ag Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow introduces new farm bill

Published

9 months ago

November 19, 2024

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On Monday, U.S. Senate Ag Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow introduced a new farm bill, hoping it could pass before the end of the year. She acknowledged that her bill doesn’t have a hearing scheduled for a markup session or Republican support.

“We could do a markup in committee and then look to attach it to a bill moving at the end of the year, but there has to be a willingness to do a bipartisan approach,” she said in a call with reporters.

The 1,400-page document is a draft that envisions increasing farm bill spending by $39 billion over 10 years, including $20 billion for crop subsidy, crop insurance, specialty crop, and trade promotion programs, $8.5 billion for public nutrition programs, and $4.3 billion for rural development. According to Successful Farming, the bill would also immediately reimburse an estimated $2 billion in crop insurance premiums farmers pay. The bill would also advance by six months the payment date for crop subsidies, which now are paid a year after harvest.

Stabenow said in a statement, “This is a robust bill that puts more farm in the Farm Bill for all of our commodities, but not at the expense of rural communities and American families that are critical to holding the Farm Bill coalition together. It provides farmers with the certainty of a 5-year Farm Bill – so they can plan for the future – and the assistance they need to manage the urgent needs they have right now.”Tetrahydrocannabinol

Hemp changes

In addition to those issues, the bill also tackles the conundrum of intoxicating hemp. Stabenow’s bill attempts to drill down into the definition of industrial hemp by clarifying that it is ” whole grain, oil, cake, nut, hull, or any other compound, manufactured product, derivative, mixture, or preparation of the seeds of that plant (except cannabinoid resin extracted from the seeds of that plant).”

In her proposal, industrial hemp would still have a small THC cushion that is inherent in the plant but addresses the definition of THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol). Instead of the narrow language from the 2018 Farm Bill that carved out Delta-9 THC as the only form of regulated psychoactive cannabis, Stabenow’s draft includes all forms of THC – striking the word Delta-9 and changing it to “total.”

The draft also cites synthetic hemp products which addresses many of the intoxicating hemp products currently sold over the counter.

The term ‘industrial hemp’ means the plant Cannabis sativa L. if the harvested material …..will not be used in the manufacturing or synthesis of natural or synthetic cannabinoid products.’’.

The language also closes the loophole on THCa, another favored product for intoxicating hemp producers. The draft suggests, “by striking ‘‘concentration’’ and inserting ‘‘concentration (including tetrahydrocannabinolic acid)’.”

As a reminder the 2018 Farm Bill attempted to address the inclusion of some THC in industrial hemp products, but that narrow definition was exploited. The emergence of various hemp-derived THC products has exploded creating a market of psychoactive hemp products that are unregulated or tested and often sold to minors.

Unlikely future for passage

The senator announced her retirement and if this bill passes it would be her sixth farm bill. However, the chances seem slim. Republican Sen. John Boozman, from Arkansas, is expected to be named chairman. Boozeman posted this statement on X:

“An 11th hour partisan proposal released 415 days after the expiration of the current farm bill is insulting. America’s farmers deserve better.” RM

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MScannaBIZ for all you Mississippi Cannabis News and Information.

2024 Farm Bill

Wisconsin Congressman calls Miller amendment un-American

Published

1 year ago

August 2, 2024

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Rep. Van Orden believes Congress shouldn’t revoke business it has already approved.

Green Market Report recently visited Washington D.C. and ran into Wisconsin Congressman Derrick Van Orden while walking in front of the Capital. The Congressman supports his constituents who have created hemp businesses using Delta-9 products. He thinks that Congress shouldn’t take away something it has already authorized. He says it’s un-American.

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MScannaBIZ for all you Mississippi Cannabis News and Information.

2024 Farm Bill

The Daily Hit: June 5, 2024

Published

1 year ago

June 5, 2024

mscannabiz.com

The Daily Hit is a recap of the top financial news stories for Wednesday, June 5, 2024.

On the Site

Report: Michigan overtakes California in number of cannabis products sold

California is still outselling Michigan on the revenue front, likely due to higher prices in the West Coast state.

Read more here.

States, courts grapple with illegal hemp as they await new federal rules

Negotiations are underway on the 2024 Farm Bill, but intoxicating hemp products are already readily available.

Read more here.

Green Thumb CEO confirms proposal to Boston Beer

Kovler waxed poetic of the potential benefits of a combination between the two companies.

Read more here.

Safe Harbor expands cannabis services, lends $550k to three businesses

The three lines of credit didn’t require real estate collateral, “utilizing instead a flexible set of underwriting standards.”

Read more here.

Ohio DCC publishes new license application documents earlier than expected

The DCC will begin accepting applications on June 7, and regulators must approve or deny them by Sept. 7.

Read more here.

In Other News

Acreage Holdings

Acreage Holdings, (CSE: ACRG.A.U, ACRG.B.U) (OTCQX: ACRHF, ACRDF) entered into subscription agreements with certain institutional investors to issue units by way of a brokered private placement at a price of US$833.33 per unit, for gross proceeds $10 million.

Read more here.

Grown Rogue International

Grown Rogue International (CSE: GRIN) (OTC: GRUSF) received licensing approval with the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission and closed its first option to acquire 44% of ABCO Garden State LLC on May 31.

Read more here.

California recalls

California regulators are initiating more cannabis product recalls and health warnings to consumers. In the past month alone, the Department of Cannabis Control has issued six product recalls, and the California Department of Public Health issued a consumer warning regarding certain hemp-infused beverages.

Read more here.

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