Hemp-based products that contain CBD — the non-alcoholic cannabinoid President Donald Trump proposed to cover through Medicare last month — will be regulated under federal law for the first time if a bipartisan bill introduced in Congress on Thursday passes.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will set cannabinoid limits for hemp-based products under the Hemp Enforcement, Modernization and Protection (HEMP) Act, sponsored by Republican US Rep. Morgan Griffith of West Virginia and Texas Democratic US Rep. Marc Veasey.
The bill does not regulate marijuana.
While the draft language appears to give the health secretary the power to impose restrictions on THC, the bill’s intent is limited to CBD, according to a statement from Griffith’s office.
That’s still good news for the US hemp sector, which faces extinction under Trump’s ban signed into law last November.
‘Significant progress’ on hemp product regulations missing from Farm Bill
In a statement, Griffith lamented the lack of “significant progress at the federal level” despite “continued confusion about the safety, use and sale of products containing CBD.”
“I look forward to working with our colleagues, the Trump Administration and the FDA to get this bill through.”
The bill appears destined to at least be called for a hearing, since Griffith is chairman of the House Health Subcommittee.
Despite the legalization of hemp cultivation and production through the 2018 Farm Bill, federal law remains silent on hemp products except for the ban on hemp-derived THC products that Trump signed into law last year, leaving regulation to the states.
President Trump’s Medicare coverage with CBD promise has not been fulfilled
Workers in the $28 billion hemp industry, meanwhile, are in a state of uncertainty ahead of the ban, which will take effect in November.
Hemp industry advocates say the ban, which limits THC in hemp products to no more than 0.4 milligrams per pack, also makes many CBD products illegal.
Those are the very products that Mehmet Oz, director of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, proposed to cover for the elderly starting in April of this year.
But doing so will require more clarification from Congress, Washington watchers say.
Federal hemp laws will give the Cabinet the power to set CBD, THC restrictions
Under the Griffith-Veasey proposal, the shared draft MJBizDailyHealth Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would be responsible for setting the “total cannabinoid content” of “cannabinoid hemp products” that can be inhaled, taken orally or used topically within 60 days of the bill’s passage.
But if Kennedy or his successor as health secretary does not act within three years, the bill sets automatic restrictions:
- 10 milligrams of cannabinoids per serving and 50 milligrams per package of edibles
- 100 milligrams per serving and 500 milligrams per packet of inhalant products
- 100 milligrams per serving and 500 milligrams per package for topical products
Those restrictions do not specify which cannabinoid falls under those restrictions, seemingly opening the door for THC found in regulated hemp.
The ‘first step’ for sensible federal hemp regulations
That may be addressed in future amendments. Even hemp advocates said Friday the bill needs “major improvements.”
“While this first step is very important, there is still much work to be done before final passage,” said Jonathan Miller, chairman of the US Hemp Roundtable, in a statement Friday.
Hemp advocates on Capitol Hill are pushing to at least delay the upcoming ban on THC from hemp in order to pass some federal legislation.
A push to temporarily include a ban on hemp-based THC in a temporary spending bill introduced Tuesday failed.
