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A provision in the federal spending bill that ended the longest shutdown in U.S. history would impose strict limits on certain hemp-derived products, affecting a growing segment of the hemp industry.
The spending bill, which passed this week, included a provision targeting psychoactive hemp products previously allowed under state and federal regulation.
The 2018 Farm Bill dictated that hemp-derived cannabinoids, like Delta-8, were legal given that the hemp products contained less than 0.3% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Manufacturers following this law could chemically convert cannabidiol (CBD) from hemp into psychoactive cannabinoids, which they argued came from legal hemp.
Nebraska’s state law currently follows the 2018 law, but Attorney General Mike Hilgers has filed lawsuits against dozens of retailers alleging they are selling products that contain THC levels that are too high and are mislabeled.
The provision included in the current federal spending bill aims to close what critics label as a “loophole.” The provision states that products cannot exceed 0.4 milligrams of THC per container, that products come from hemp with less than 0.3% THC by dry weight, and that products are not chemically converted into other cannabinoids.
The recent provisions have drawn responses from both the industry and regulators, including a Nebraska hemp grower.
Brett Mayo, Sweetwater Hemp Company’s chief marketing and extraction officer, said the federal provision would negatively impact the hemp industry as a whole.
“I think it's very unfair how they're doing it and how they're trying to hide it with all the other things that are going on in the country right now. They're trying to hide it from somebody so they can just push it through.” Mayo said. “It's going to affect the entire thing from a grower to a producer to a retailer.”
Mayo urged both consumers and regulators to educate themselves on Nebraska’s hemp industry, and he said he and his company invite Nebraskans to visit their facility.
“What’s being affected is very misunderstood. It isn’t the cannabinoid itself that hurts anybody, it's the stuff in the products because of the lack of testing and what is happening in the state of Nebraska,” he said. “We want regulation giving directions to what you want done, and we will follow those rules and regulations. But if you continue to not do that and just ban, it’s just eliminating something that can be very beneficial to Nebraska."
Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers said that the federal action has caused the state to evaluate the impact of the current litigation and enforcement efforts.
“The federal action will shut down the market for harmful THC products, leaving the larger industrial hemp market untouched,” Hilgers said in an emailed statement. “This action is enormously important for the safety of kids and communities, which is why a bipartisan group of nearly 40 state attorney generals urged its passage. We are evaluating the impact on our current litigation and enforcement efforts."
Hilgers’ office provided Nebraska Public Media with a letter from the National Association of Attorneys General, signed by Hilgers and 40 other attorney generals from various U.S. states and territories, urging federal lawmakers to clarify the federal definition of hemp.
The letter says the 2018 Farm Bill has been wrongly exploited by bad actors to sell recreational synthetic THC products across the country.