Oops. Or maybe this was the plan all along.
The Texas hemp industry, fresh from fending off an all-out ban by the state Legislature, is facing another extinction-level event — this time from Congress.
The U.S. Senate on Monday night agreed to language that would ban almost all THC-containing hemp products nationwide. The language is tucked into a spending deal inked by the chamber to end the federal government shutdown that could be signed by President Donald Trump as early as Wednesday.
Senators also rejected a last-ditch amendment by Republican U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky to scrap the ban, with Paul warning that the language would “kill an entire industry”, including many farmers. The provision would only go into effect one year after the deal’s passage, and Congress could repeal or reverse the decision at some point in the next year.
The move represents a particularly stinging loss to hemp businesses in Texas, which spent much of the last year lobbying to save their industry from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s crusade against THC.
“I appreciate Congress addressing this important issue at the national level,” Patrick said in a social media post celebrating the vote. “I believe this ban will save a generation from getting hooked on dangerous drugs.”
Proponents of the ban say it closes a loophole in the 2018 law that decriminalized hemp and resulted in an industry boom, a similar argument made by Patrick in his quest for a state ban. Industry groups representing alcohol and marijuana products — whose sales have taken a hit in part from the rise in cheaper hemp products — have encouraged Republicans in Congress to crack down on hemp.
The vote on Paul’s amendment split the two Texas senators, with John Cornyn voting to preserve the ban and Ted Cruz siding with 22 Democrats in opposition. Cruz later said he supported a state-by-state approach and praised Abbott for having vetoed the Texas ban earlier this year.
“Reasonable minds can disagree, and a blanket federal prohibition disempowers the voters in each of the fifty States,” Cruz wrote on X.
[…]
The new language in the shutdown deal essentially changes the federal definition of hemp, lowering the allowable concentration of cannabinoids, introducing a cap of 0.4 milligrams of THC per container of hemp products.
Hemp proponents say the language would essentially wipe out their booming industry nationwide, banning all natural and converted THC, like Delta-9 and Delta-8, in all consumable forms, including gummies, drinks, vapes and topical creams.
Man, it’s so disorienting when Ted Cruz does the right thing. He voted for the final bill, of course, so only partial credit, but still. This isn’t the final word – in addition to the delay in implementation of this ban, the reopening bill is being slowed down by Sen. Rand Paul, and it still has to pass the House, which is its own little nest of drama. If the House does pass this, it will surely be along party lines, so that will provide another way for Dems here to attack Republicans for the failed-but-not-dead effort to pass a ban here. This is their problem, we need to make them own it.