A provision to delay the forthcoming federal ban on intoxicating hemp products has been included in the Senate budget bill to fund the government. The Hemp Planting Predictability Act, introduced by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Rand Paul (R-KY) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and negotiated with the support of Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-MT), would push back the ban from November 12 to December 11.
The proposal also includes a ban on synthetic hemp derivatives which the supporters say will “best protect public health and safety.”
“Brewers, farmers, small businesses, and customers in Minnesota have made clear that the federal ban on hemp products will be devastating. The new government funding bill in the Senate includes a key provision based on my bipartisan bill to delay the federal hemp ban, which I opposed last November, so other states can put more sensible safety rules in place like we have in Minnesota. This delay was immediately necessary to give Minnesota hemp producers and customers certainty, while giving Congress more time to get to a long-term fix.” — Klobuchar in a press release
The day after the senators’ announcement, a group of attorneys general from 35 states sent a letter to members of Congress urging them to reject “any effort to delay, repeal, suspend, or weaken the November 2025 redefinition of ‘hemp’ and by ensuring that the redefinition takes effect as enacted and remains in place thereafter.”
“If the loophole is reopened or the new definition is weakened or repealed, States will face renewed litigation, inconsistent enforcement, regulatory uncertainty, increased youth access to intoxicating products, and disruption of lawful businesses that have already adjusted their operations to comply with the new federal framework,” the letter states. “Equally as concerning, change at this stage would allow the return of unregulated intoxicating cannabis products that Congress appropriately chose to address.”
The AGs contend that if the redefinition of hemp is not maintained as planned recent state efforts at regulation “will be thrown into chaos.”
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