By Luke Fountain | CNBC
The hemp industry is bracing for layoffs, production reductions and billions in lost revenue after Congress passed a government funding bill late Wednesday containing a surprise provision that will ban nearly all hemp-derived consumer products.
Hemp, a derivative of the cannabis plant, was legalized in the 2018 Farm Bill for industrial uses like rope, textiles and seed. But the law’s broad definition created a loophole in federal rules on THC — the psychoactive compound responsible for a high — experts said, allowing producers to extract psychoactive cannabinoids from federally legal hemp. Companies used that opening to flood the market with gummies, drinks and vapes capable of delivering a marijuana-like high.
The new ban, tucked into legislation ending the longest shutdown in history, outlaws products containing more than 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container. Industry executives said that threshold will wipe out 95% of the $28 billion hemp retail market when it takes effect in a year.
For reference, a single hemp gummy typically contains 2.5 to 10 milligrams of THC, according to the Journal of Cannabis Research.
“We have lost the battle this time,” said Jonathan Miller, the U.S. Hemp Roundtable’s general counsel. “In effect, this is a total, all out, complete ban on hemp products in the United States.”
