As bicameral lawmakers work to reach a deal on provisions for federal spending legislation, including how to settle an increasingly contentious debate about hemp products, competing interests are making their voices heard on how they think Congress should handle the issue.
To that end, a GOP senator is hoping to replace a proposed ban on hemp THC products with alternate language mandating a study into state regulatory models for consumable cannabinoids, while a group of state attorneys general are taking steps to urge Republican leadership to move ahead with an outright prohibition on intoxicating products.
While the House has not yet passed its version of the agriculture spending bill, the Senate version was combined into a so-called minibus with appropriations legislation that also covers defense and the legislative branch. Last month, House leadership requested a conference committee and appointed negotiators, despite not having advanced its own companion bill through the chamber.
The Senate hasn’t appointed its conferees, and no formal meetings have taken place so far, but it’s reported that appropriators have been informally discussing relevant issues. And one GOP senator is angling to get ahead of the negotiations around hemp.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY)—a longstanding champion of cannabis reform
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