WASHIGTON DC – A ban on intoxicating hemp may not wait for the next U.S. Farm Bill, as a measure that could remove the often unsafe products from the market has passed out of a key U.S. congressional committee and could be in place by October.
The House Appropriations Committee last week approved a broad measure that covers 2025 funding for farming, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and various other agencies. The measure includes provisions similar to those proposed for the upcoming U.S. Farm Bill that would rein in delta-8 THC and other psychoactive hemp-derived substances.
“We’ll continue working on this and get the bad actors out, the ones who are not…converting some of that to delta-8, which is a dangerous substance,” said Rep. Andy Harris, a Maryland Republican who authored an amendment to the spending bill.
A flourishing gray market has developed for the products, which have widely spread as a result of a loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill, an historic measure that removed hemp from the dangerous drugs category. Many of the synthetic, “high”-producing products, which are marketed as an alternative to marijuana, have been found to be a threat to public health. They remain unregulated, an open door to nefarious actors who have sparked a multi-billion dollar market for the intoxicating substances.
In addition to delta-8 THC – the most popular of the compounds – the measure approved by the appropriations committee last week would prohibit delta-10 THC, THC-O-acetate, HHC, THCP. The spending bill also addresses hemp-derived THCA, a precursor to delta-9 THC, which turns into delta-9 when burned. Some producers are turning out highly concentrated THCA hemp buds which are also widely available.
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