* The Guardian…

A last-minute provision in the federal spending bill heavily restricting hemp-derived products such as CBD and THC drinks could lead some Republicans to vote against the spending bill which, if passed, could end the government shutdown as early as Wednesday. […]

On Monday night, Kentucky senator Rand Paul broke with the Republican party and voted against the bill because of the hemp provision, which was revealed at the 11th hour and which Paul tried unsuccessfully to have removed. […]

The current version of the provision “criminalizes any product that has more than .4 milligrams of total THC per container. That’s basically zero. 95% of hemp products have more than .4 milligrams,” [Jonathan Miller, an advocate for the hemp industry and former Kentucky state treasurer,] said.

The 2018 farm bill’s only restriction on hemp was that it contain less than 0.3% delta 9 THC. The new provision would ban THC in all forms, including delta 8 THC and THCA, which are common in hemp products, and would also criminalize non-intoxicating CBD products with trace amounts of THC, Miller said.

Gov. JB Pritzker has been hoping to pass a bill to regulate the intoxicating hemp industry for almost a year now, but Illinois’ General Assembly has repeatedly failed to enact its own regulatory system.

I’ve asked the governor’s office for a response and will post it if and/or when I hear back.

* Brownfield Ag News…

[The chairman of the National Hemp Association Geoff Whaling] says the measure would end the unregulated sale of hemp-based products and return the focus to hemp grain and fiber production. […]

The bill overrides 23 state laws and limits allowed cannabinoid levels in products to well below current thresholds. Whaling tells Brownfield that the legislation’s effects would take effect a year after it’s signed into law. […]

He says the year window could offer opportunities to re-establish a legitimate cannabinoid market. […]

In a statement to Brownfield, Rachel Berry, president of the Illinois Hemp Growers Association (IHGA), says, “The IHGA and its members are disappointed in the Senate-approved Continuing Resolution language that devastates the hemp industry, particularly small producers, and prioritizes special interests over agricultural innovation and family farms.”

* Craft brewers have cashed in on the THC beverage market as more consumers shift away from alcohol. Minnesota Reformer…

[L]iquor stores and breweries that sell THC products would have to pay significantly higher taxes, thanks to a section in the federal tax code that forbids businesses from selling illegal substances and also getting tax deductions on their business expenses. They’d also be unable to work with credit card companies or many banks, limitations which have forced cannabis dispensaries to largely use cash.

“There will be a number of breweries that will close their doors,” said Bob Galligan of the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild.

Also, since hemp-derived THC comes from immature cannabis plants with more non-THC biomass, it’s less efficient to produce compared to cannabis. Federal legalization made hemp less of a headache to deal with compared to higher-potency weed, Galligan said, but a federal ban on hemp would reverse that calculation.

“The THC category we started two and a half years ago, it’s grown to be approaching 15% of our overall business,” said Jon Halper, owner of Top Ten Liquors, which Halper said is one of the top two hemp-derived THC retailers in Minnesota. Halper attributes Top Ten’s sales growth this year to those THC sales.

Thoughts?

* More…

* Missouri Independent | Missouri hemp businesses fear new federal THC limits will destroy the industry: John Grady and his wife Kara opened up their hemp emporium in Rosebud on July 4 — and they say about 60% of their customers are veterans, like Grady, who are treating chronic pain or PTSD with intoxicating hemp products. […] “When this is done,” he said, “we’ll lose 52% of our revenue, meaning we won’t be able to stay in business.”

* Cannabis Business Times | 13 GOP House Reps Oppose Hemp Product Ban Ahead of Vote to End Shutdown: U.S. House Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., and 12 of his Republican colleagues previously spoke out in opposition to a federal ban on intoxicating hemp products that was under consideration earlier this year. Comer led a bipartisan coalition of 27 representatives – 13 Republicans and 14 Democrats – in asking House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to strike anti-hemp provisions from a previous version of the fiscal 2026 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Related Agencies Appropriations Act.

* Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | Wisconsin hemp businesses say Senate bill banning THC products would ‘decimate’ the industry: John Kashou, owner of Kangaroo Brands, which includes THC and CBD shop Kind Oasis, said he and other local business owners agree with enacting “common-sense” regulations on the hemp industry statewide. Among the regulations business owners proposed were testing requirements, clearly labeled packaging and age restrictions to avoid children accessing the products. “Whatever happens on a national level is going to happen,” Kashou said. “We’ve got to be more concerned about what we’re going to do on a state level in order to ensure not only our continued existence, but to protect thousands and thousands of jobs that are at stake.”