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The federal spending bill which, if passed, would end the record-long government shutdown, would also heavily restrict the selling of THC-infused products.
Larry Smart, a professor of plant breeding and genetics at Cornell University, has advised members of the House on the potential impacts of this provision and can speak to why some feel it’s necessary.
Larry Smart
Professor, School of Integrative Plant Science, Horticulture Section, Plant Breeding and Genetics Section
“Legal interpretations of legislation in the 2014 and 2018 Farm Bills that legalized the production of hemp led to the manufacture of intoxicating products (delta-8 THC) by converting CBD extracted from hemp in a laboratory to make the d8-THC — which is not naturally produced in hemp.
“Hemp producers and the manufacturers of these intoxicating products avoided the high license fees and taxes associated with cannabis and these products were sold in states that did not pass cannabis legalization. This provision bans these intoxicating products, but other provisions threaten the CBD hemp industry.
“Mainly, a requirement that any hemp-derived cannabinoid products must not have more than 0.4 mg of THC per container, which would ban essentially all products made from natural extracts of hemp CBD. There is also a provision defining that hemp seeds can only be produced by plants with < 0.3% THC, which could further complicate regulations of the hemp industry at a time when producers are desperate for less regulation.”
