A Senate stopgap funding bill would delay the federal prohibition on most hemp-derived THC products until December 11, but Republican senators Ted Budd and Pete Ricketts are trying to block the reprieve. The White House is urging GOP lawmakers to accept the short delay, warning that the dispute could stall the broader spending bill and disrupt the Senate’s August recess.
As we reported last week, the federal ban on hemp-derived THC products that has been looming over the industry might be delayed for a month. Senate leaders released a stopgap funding bill on Sunday that would keep federal agencies running through December 11. Tucked inside the bill was a provision that would delay the planned prohibition on most hemp-derived THC products until that same date.
But this move didn’t go as smoothly as planned. As reported by Marijuana Moment, Republican senators Ted Budd and Pete Ricketts have each argued against delaying the hemp ban. Their argument? Mainly, “save the children.”
On the one hand, Budd considers the public availability of hemp products a “public health crisis,” emphasizing its alleged impact on children, the workforce, and even the military. “I am appalled at the well-oiled, slick lobbying machine […] that has chosen to wage this surreptitious war against our efforts to protect American children,” Senator Budd stated. He also filed an amendment aimed at blocking the delay.
On the Senate floor, Budd displayed posters showing advertisements for THC products whose packaging bore a striking resemblance to that of popular food brands such as Oreos and Skittles, and argued that, because the packaging uses bright colors, the products are “unmistakably designed to appeal to kids.”
“You know this is not some innocent coincidence. You don’t accidentally create packaging for an intoxicating substance that bears a strange resemblance to a recognizable brand,” he …
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Author: Marian Venini / High Times
