Proposed hemp ban tucked into federal funding bill could stall end to gov’t shutdown

WASHINGTON — What are they smoking?

A proposed hemp ban that threatens to end the sale of scores of popular THC gummies, vapes and even beverages is tucked into a government-funding bill — and could stall lawmakers’ efforts to end the longest-ever shutdown in US history.

The Senate will be voting on a full-year funding measure as part of its deal to end the shutdown — and the plan would also prohibit the unregulated sale of “intoxicating hemp-based or hemp-derived products, including Delta-8, from being sold online, in gas stations, and corner stores, while preserving non-intoxicating CBD and industrial hemp products.”

That would do away with the sale of scores of wildly popular THC products — as well as hundreds of thousands of jobs that make up a $28 billion industry, opponents of the provision said.

Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) pushed the Senate to a vote on the revised bill Monday night after seven Democrats crossed party lines to join Republicans in breaking the 60-vote filibuster on a House-passed version of the funding legislation.

But Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) demanded a vote on an amendment that would strike the hemp-ban provision, leading to accusations that he was delaying the passage of the funding package.

He and hemp-industry insiders have blamed Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) for the inclusion of the hemp ban after he advocated for closing a “loophole” in the 2018 Farm Bill that allowed for the unregulated sale of the products.

“I’m amenable to trying to get the bills through to get government back open,” Paul had told Hemp Industry & Farmers of America on an Oct. 28 phone call, according to audio obtained by The Post. “But I’ve also told them — and I think they believe me — that we can do this the easy way or the hard way.

“The easy way is I give my consent, and the hard way is I don’t,” he said. “And I’ve told them I’ll give my consent, but what we would like is for the bill this year to institute or call for a study of the issue done by the USDA, an 18-month study. We think they should study what’s going on in the states.”

Paul claimed Monday on X: “I am not delaying this bill.

“The timing is already fixed under Senate procedure. But there is extraneous language in this package that has nothing to do with reopening the government and would harm Kentucky’s hemp farmers and small businesses.”

A spokeswoman for Paul’s office noted that, “Nothing has been slowed down or delayed. Not one minute.”

Some supporters of the hemp ban have claimed distributors may not be sufficiently verifying purchasers’ IDs. The White House, religious groups such as Catholic Vote, hardline conservatives and reps for the alcohol industry have also backed the hemp prohibition.

If enacted, the provision could swiftly eliminate up to 80% of revenue for hemp makers and destroy an up to $28 billion market for their products made possible by language included in Congress’ 2018 Farm Bill, according to industry insiders.

The economic fallout of as much as $1.5 billion in lost tax revenue would hit states such as Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, Colorado and Oregon the hardest, said the industry reps, who have also expressed concern about the legislation giving a boost to foreign producers.