This is an inflection point for hemp.

This is an inflection point for hemp.  

If no Congressional action is taken with the next 353 days, 95% of hemp extract products currently on the market will be deemed Schedule 1 narcotics, while the remaining 5% of THC-free isolates would be impossible to manufacture given the limits on extraction. Much of the industrial hemp industry would be thrown into disarray, particularly grain farming. This would also severely disrupt the cannabinoid supply chain of the regulated marijuana market.

In fact, our farmers are under fire right now. A member of the Roundtable’s Farmers Advisory Committee shared that he could be left with over $1 million of unsold biomass from this year’s harvest due to broken contracts. And next year’s crops are in serious jeopardy – farmers need to make decisions in the next few months whether they can lay seed in the ground. 

Worse yet, some state policymakers are treating the prospective hemp ban as a fait accompli, pursuing legislation that would incorporate the McConnell/Harris ban language in their states.

This is why we’re moving quickly. Our first priority is to secure an additional one-year moratorium on the effective date of the ban. We’ve seen a strong public backlash, with many more Members of Congress raising their voices in favor of regulation, not prohibition. This additional one-year period would allow for the appropriate level of transparency and scrutiny needed to reach a responsible resolution. We ask you to join our grassroots efforts to convince Congress to add this extension to the continuing resolution in late January.

Second, we will be supporting efforts led by Sen. Rand Paul and members of the Minnesota congressional delegation to ensure that states have the authority to regulate hemp without federal interference – setting their own policies on THC potency and permitted form factors.

Finally, we are working to develop the federal regulatory framework to replace the ban. We have been sitting down with our champions, conservative Republican Rep. Morgan Griffith of Virginia, and liberal Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, who are each developing legislation to be introduced in the coming weeks. After extensive meetings on Capitol Hill, the only path with bipartisan support – which is required to keep our industry alive – would include the following:

• Extend the hemp ban moratorium from 1 to 2.5 years.
• Guarantee states’ full authority to regulate hemp across all form factors and strengths without federal interference. To protect states without regulatory frameworks, raise the federal floor on potency from the current 0.4 mg THC per container to a minimum of 5 mg THC per serving and 30-day supplies.
• Oppose carveouts for any one form factor.
• Establish robust federal regulation requiring GMP, third-party testing, truth-in-labeling, prohibiting misleading packaging, and banning sales to minors.
• Ban synthetic/artificial cannabinoids masquerading as hemp, while allowing bioconversions for naturally-occuring cannabinoids in greater than trace amounts.
• Maintain a unity-first approach – open to all collaboration while finding bipartisan solutions that keep the entire hemp industry alive.

This is an existential fight, and we can’t let perfect be the enemy of the good — so we are laser-focused on what’s politically possible. Please join us in a united front to secure a one-year extension on the ban, states’ rights to establish potency limits, and a long-term regulatory solution that allows for the future of the hemp industry in the context of this new political reality.

Want to know more and have your questions answered by the Roundtable team? Please join us on Wednesday, December 10th at 3pm ET for an informative webinar. Register here: