INDUSTRY UPDATES

September 25, 2023

U.S. Hemp Roundtable Promotes Legislative Agenda On Capitol Hill

Members of the U.S. Hemp Roundtable gathered in Washington D.C. last week to promote a robust legislative agenda on Capitol Hill. The national hemp lobbying organization held its second annual Fall Fly-In on Wednesday, September 20th to campaign for hemp industry priorities for the upcoming Farm Bill and federal legislation that would regulate CBD.

The day was stacked with a bipartisan slate of nearly four dozen meetings with Members of Congress and their staff, including 31 Senate meetings (17 Republican; 14 Democrat) and 16 House meetings (6 Republican; 10 Democrat) from 16 across states and Washington D.C. — CA, DC, CO, FL, KS, KY, MD, NC, NV, NY, OK, OR, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA. 

A midday briefing and luncheon took place at noon featuring a panel discussion on legislation that would direct the FDA to regulate hemp-derived CBD. The panel was moderated by U.S. Hemp Roundtable General Counsel, Jonathan Miller, who was joined by representatives from several leading dietary supplement organizations, including —

  • Julia Gustafson, Vice President for the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN)
  • Marc Schloss, Vice President for the Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA)
  • Will Woodlee, Outside Counsel for the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA)
  • Pete Meachum, Senior Director of Government Affairs for the Cronos Group

“This esteemed panel of dietary supplement experts demonstrated strong, unified national support behind legislation—such as H.R.1628, H.R.1629 and S.5451—that would direct the FDA to regulate hemp-derived CBD using existing regulatory frameworks,” said Miller.“We all agree that the FDA has the ability to regulate CBD products without having to develop a new, separate pathway.” 

The briefing had over a hundred attendees, the majority coming from offices of Members on the House Energy and Commerce, Senate HELP (Health, Education, Labor and Pensions), and House and Senate Agriculture committees. The Roundtable held a similar event in April that focused on priorities for the upcoming Farm Bill with speakers from the Hemp Industries Association (HIA) and the National Industrial Hemp Council (NIHC).

“With negotiations for the next Farm Bill taking place, along with the recent pressure on FDA coming as a result of the recent Congressional hearing and RFI on CBD regulations, it was an optimal time to amplify our efforts,” Miller said. “We will remain vigilant over the next several months to ensure that the next steps are forward for both hemp stakeholders and consumers.”

Read the exclusive Fall Fly-In coverage from Let’s Talk Hemp!

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Video

Watch this quick video with some of our favorite moments from the day.

Watch here: https://youtu.be/vvrPHWdVwtk

Photo Gallery

Here are some photo highlights from the day! Check out the expanded the photo gallery here.

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