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Congressional Amendments To Delay Or Speed Up Federal Hemp THC Product Ban Won’t Get Votes

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2 months ago

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Congressional amendments to both delaying the scheduled federal recriminalization of hemp THC products for another year or to speed up implementation will not be considered on the House floor this week.

Rep. James Comer (R-KY) introduced the delay proposal as an amendment to the Farm Bill, while Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL) introduced an expedited approach. Neither will move forward, however, with Comer withdrawing his measure and the House Rules Committee failing to vote on Miller’s.

Hemp derivatives containing less than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC by weight of the drug were made federally legal under the 2018 Farm Bill signed by President Donald Trump in his first term. But late last year, Trump signed new legislation containing provisions that will redefine hemp so that only products with a total of 0.4 milligrams of THC per container will be legal starting Nov. 12.

Comer’s amendment, sponsored by Reps. Kelly Morrison (D-MN), Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Morgan Griffith (R-VA), would have delayed the ban until November 2027.

According to Miller’s proposal, however, the ban will begin the day the new Farm Bill takes effect. However, it is unclear based on progress in Congress whether the large-scale farming legislation will actually become law, and the legislation could not pass until after the current recriminalization date.

Comer told the panel at Monday’s meeting that his amendment would “protect American farmers” and “help the hemp industry and the thousands of jobs that use and rely on these products.”

“It is clear that Congress needs more time to pass legislation that protects jobs, eliminates bad actors, standardizes labeling and requires third-party testing,” he said. “My amendment would give Congress another year, until November 2027, to develop this solution.”

It is not clear why he decided to remove it from the annex to the proposal Farm BillAlso known as the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026, or HR 7567.




Griffith, a member of the Rules Committee who sponsored Comer’s amendment, noted that there are “a lot of hemp products from overseas that don’t have third-party testing” on the market, “frankly all kinds of junk.”

He said the real solution is for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate the products, citing a separate bill he has introduced on the issue, but argued that “we have to have time to adjust,” which he said would provide the delay amendment.

Meanwhile, Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) also introduced an amendment to the bill that, according to the sponsor’s summary, “changes the definition of hemp to protect the legal hemp market, creating a regulatory framework that protects children, bans synthetics, and ensures that products on the market are of American origin.”

The congressman later withdrew the proposal for undisclosed reasons.

However, he recently received a letter White House officials commented on pending legislation to create a regulatory framework for hemp.

Last week, Vince Haley, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, and James Braid, assistant to the president for legislative affairs, sent hemp policy suggestions to Barr, who is helping lead efforts to establish regulations for the plant as an alternative to prohibition.

“We appreciate your work to advance policy,” the executive order Trump signed in December, which included provisions to protect Americans’ access to CBD products, the staff wrote in a letter to Congress.

“We are submitting draft legislation and comments to your account to address the final statutory definition of hemp-derived cannabinoid products to ensure that Americans have access to adequate full-spectrum CBD products while maintaining Congress’ intent to limit the sale of products that pose serious health risks,” White House officials said, according to a social media screencast. “We are open to discussion and further technical assistance.”

The annex to the administration’s proposed legislative text has not been released publicly, and the White House and Barr’s office did not immediately respond to Marihuana Moment’s request for more details.

It’s not clear from the text of the letter whether the White House was proactively sending legislative proposals to the lawmaker or whether they were responding to something sent by his office, though two cannabis industry sources suggested to Marihuana Moment that Barr was sending the language to the administration, and then providing technical feedback.

Trump this week It inspired lawmakers in Congress to take action to change the currently planned hemp banand suggested that this threatens to federally recriminalize full-spectrum CBD products.

“I’m calling on Congress to update the Act so Americans can continue to have access to the full-spectrum CBD products they trust and support, while maintaining Congress’ intent to restrict the sale of products that pose health risks,” the president said in a Truth Social message Thursday, the same day his administration announced it is moving forward to re-regulate marijuana.

“We need to do this RIGHT and FAST, especially for those who have found CBD to help them,” he said. “Also, I’m told it will help our BIG FARMERS that we love and will always be around.”

Rep. Jim Baird (R-IN) had it introduced the hemp ban delay amendment before the House Agriculture Committee when it took up the Farm Bill last month, but the president of that panel determined that the proposal was not in line with the legislation.

The Farm Bill passed by the previous committee includes provisions to help the hemp industry and farmers who grow cannabis for industrial purposes, such as fiber and grain. For example, the legislation would amend statutes related to states and tribes developing regulatory plans for industrial hemp production, including policies on testing, sampling, background checks and record keeping.

Other bipartisan hemp reform bills are pending in Congress.

This month, for example, it was introduced by Senators Rand Paul (R-KY), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Joni Ernst (R-IA). The Hemp Safety Enforcement Act, which would give states the option of federal recriminalization of THC hemp products. it will be established this year.

Ernst withdrew his name, however, as a sponsor of the legislation. His office did not respond to Marihuana Moment’s request for clarification on the move.

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The US Department of Agriculture published this month shows that US farmers grow $3 billion in hemp crops by 2025— 64% increase compared to the previous year.

Meanwhile, this month the Trump administration launched a new initiative Cover up to $500 of hemp-derived products annually for eligible Medicare patients. The program being implemented by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) focuses largely on CBD, but also allows a certain amount of THC in products.

Anti-marijuana organizations filed a lawsuit against the Medicare hemp coverage policyand Health and Human Services attorneys. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and CMS Director Mehmet Oz recently He submitted a letter requesting the filing of the case.

Meanwhile, the White House Management and Budget Office has held a series of meetings a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) CBD product enforcement policy.

The FDA also issued guidance making it clear that it does not intend to interfere Establish a Medicare coverage plan for hemp-derived products.

CMS finalized a rule that will be adopted separately Coverage of certain hemp products, primarily as specialized health-related benefits, through Medicare Advantage the plans

As hemp products become more popular among consumers, some big brands are trying to get in on the action.

The main retailer Target, for example, is expanding its involvement in the hemp-derived THC beverage market. Last year, the company began a pilot program in 10 stores in Minnesota that sell cannabis drinks. That apparently went well, and now the company has secured licenses from Minnesota regulators to sell lower-potency edible hemp products — including THC drinks — in 72 stores in the state.

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Judge declines to block New Jersey cannabis Labor Peace Agreement requirement in Curaleaf case

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22 hours ago

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June 23, 2026

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U.S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp, for the District of New Jersey, ruled against Curaleaf Holdings Inc.’s request for emergency relief to block the requirement that New Jersey cannabis companies sign Labor Peace Agreements (LPAs) to keep the rule in place while the underlying case continues.

Under Bloomberg Law, Judge Shipp issued an unpublished opinion that Curaleaf failed to demonstrate the “irreparable harm” courts require before issuing a preliminary injunction. That rule requires a party to prove that it will later suffer irreparable injury if the judge waits for full proceedings. Judge Shipp concluded that Curaleaf did not meet that threshold.

The resolution is not a decision on the substance of the regulation. Judge Shipp expressed skepticism that the LPA’s requirement is supported under federal law, although he declined to block it. A court may find that a challenger has failed to meet the standard of emergency assistance without adopting the challenged rule.

The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Enforcement Assistance and Market Modernization Act, known as CREAMMA, was signed into law by then-governor Phil Murphy in February 2021. It set up a 2020 legalization referendum and established the state’s adult cannabis market. Under CREAMMA, cannabis operators must sign an LPA and engage in collective bargaining with organized labour. These are two different obligations, both licensing requirements, not optional practices.

Curaleaf is opposing this dual mechanism. For New Jersey cannabis operators, the immediate consequence is that compliance remains mandatory while the case moves forward. The question of whether the LPA’s mandate is compatible with federal law remains unanswered.

Source: HeadyNJ



Opening photo: © Curaleaf

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Maine GOP Lawmaker Gears Up To Fight Anti-Marijuana Ballot Initiative

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22 hours ago

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June 23, 2026

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“It’s never great politically if your opponent is on TV and you don’t have the money to respond.”

By: Emma Davis, Maine Morning Star

As voters left the Woodfords Club polling station in Portland on June 9, Alex Perez and Hairo Roque, both of Connecticut, asked them to sign one. Mainers petition to roll back recreational use of legalized cannabis a decade ago Similar scenes played out in Poland and other municipalities across the country on election day.

That effort to repeal recreational cannabis was muted after the campaign missed the winter deadline to submit signatures to get it on the November ballot. Now with about 40,000 of the 67,682 signatures needed (at least 10 percent of all votes cast in the last gubernatorial election), the campaign is eyeing the November 2027 ballot, said Caroline Alcock of Massachusetts, the group’s general counsel.

The campaign appears to be driven almost exclusively by out-of-state interests, while local cannabis supporters are organizing in opposition.

“To make a bad poker reference, they’re ‘committed to pot,'” Rep. David Boyer, who led legalization efforts in 2016, said of the campaign’s sole donor, Smart Approaches to Marijuana.

Colin Mack of Brunswick, who is listed as a proponent of the initiative on the secretary of state’s website, told the Maine Morning Star after the election that he thought the effort was over. However, he said that he did not participate, apart from being a local person, to send it to Augusta.

The proposed ballot referendum would ban the commercial cultivation, sale, purchase and manufacture of cannabis starting in 2028, while allowing personal use and possession of up to 2.5 ounces. It would also create new testing and tracking requirements for medical cannabis, which the Maine Legislature rejected earlier this year.

The petition is valid until the spring of 2027, 18 months later, and Alcock said the campaign plans to continue collecting signatures through the summer.

Influence from outside the state

SAM Action, the political arm of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, which funds the campaign, he contributed $2 million in December. As a non-profit, the group is not required to disclose its financial sources.

SAM Action did not respond to multiple requests for comment. (The local Maine affiliate disbanded shortly after the 2016 referendum and is not involved in the current petition, as far as Scott Gagnon knows.)

SAM Action is also the only donor behind a similar anti-cannabis campaign in Massachusetts.

They have been in both Maine and Massachusetts the accusations of some signature collectors that the initiatives are misrepresentedthe leader Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (D) to encourage voters to read the entire petition before signing

Alcock said the campaign’s talking points to collectors are not misleading.

“We think it’s more of an adversarial strategy,” Alcock said of the allegations. “We’re not telling anyone to be misleading to voters or to use anything other than approved and vetted talking points about it.”

Although state law and the Maine Constitution require petition circulators to be Maine residents and registered voters, those residency requirements are largely unenforceable because of federal court rulings.

In 2020, Bellows was sued by a group that argued that the demands protected by the US Constitution’s First Amendment violated “fundamental political speech”.

A district court granted the group — which included We the People PAC, Maine House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham, a nonprofit and professional signature gatherer — a preliminary injunction, and in 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled that the residency requirement was unconstitutional.

The state entered into a consent order with the group, which now follows all Maine citizen initiatives, to allow out-of-state circulators as long as they agree to submit to Maine’s jurisdiction for investigation or prosecution of any alleged violation of Maine law.

Building a defense

Since the re-emergence of an anti-cannabis petition on the ballot, Boyer has begun preparing for the defense.

As the petition began to spread this winter, Boyer opened a bank account and began having initial conversations with local and national groups to organize an opposition campaign.

“I’m going to dust myself off and register with the state and start collecting money,” Boyer said after seeing signature gatherers at the polls earlier this month.

His campaign is not about getting a competitive question on the ballot, but about raising money for “no vote” signs, mailings, TV ads and other ways to oppose the petition.

“We don’t have all the money they need,” Boyer said. “We don’t have to equate one and the other, but you know it’s never good politically if your opponent is on TV and you don’t have the money to respond.”

This story was first published by the Maine Morning Star.

user photo Brian Shamblen.

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Ayotte vetoes bill allowing New Hampshire medical cannabis dispensary greenhouses

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2 days ago

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June 22, 2026

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New Hampshire Governor Kelly Ayotte vetoed Senate Bill 468 on Friday, blocking a bipartisan measure that would have allowed the state’s medical marijuana dispensaries to increase their supply of cannabis and lower prices for patients.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Howard Pearl, R-Loudon, would limit each dispensary to a single greenhouse for growing its own cannabis. Ayott rejected it outright. In his veto statement, he writes: “I do not support the expansion of marijuana cultivation in our state. That is why I have vetoed SB 468.”

New Hampshire legalized medical marijuana in 2013 under then-governor Maggie Hassan. The state limits possession to two ounces and limits sales to a small network of nonprofit “alternative treatment centers.” The state’s seven dispensaries, located in Chichester, Conway, Dover, Keene, Lebanon, Merrimack and Plymouth, are operated by four such organizations. Patients need a medical marijuana card issued by their doctor to purchase at any of them.

New Hampshire remains the only New England state without legal recreational marijuana. Across the country, 24 states have legalized recreational use and 39 have legalized medical use. Ayotte has previously cited concerns about law enforcement’s inability to measure marijuana-impaired drivers using current technology, as well as the mental health and “quality of life” of young people to oppose broader legalization.

A two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate would be needed to override the veto. Parliament plans to vote on a repeal this year.

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