On Nov. 12, over 90% of current hemp products on the U.S. market will be deemed illegal and taken off commercial shelves unless Congress amends a 2025 ban on the products.
The impending hemp ban is championed by drug safety advocates and alcohol councils alike, but dreaded by farmers, suppliers, and businesses of the hemp industry. The hemp lobby has been working overtime since the hemp-banning language — aimed at removing intoxicating products from the marketplace — was initially passed in late 2025, as they urge Congress to throw the industry a lifeline.
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Several members of both the House and the Senate have introduced legislation and amendments aimed at rolling back the hemp-banning language, but none have advanced past committee or gained much viable ground so far. If Congress wants to stop the ban from taking effect, they have just over three months to get reform language over the finish line, which has proven to be a thorny task.
But two representatives, each from states that farm much of the nationwide hemp supply, are locking arms across the political aisle with an industry-backed bill they think could push through Congress’s gridlock. Reps. Andy Barr (R-KY) and Angie Craig (R-MN), each running for Senate in their states, introduced the Lawful Hemp Protection Act this month to roll back the November 2025 language, while adding reforms to the hemp industry.
“We worked closely with Kentucky farmers, industry stakeholders, and House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Angie Craig to develop a commonsense, bipartisan framework that supports American agriculture while protecting consumers and children,” Barr told the Washington Examiner.
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The hemp-banning language passed in November 2025 cut down the allowable hemp-derived THC per product container to 0.4 milligrams from the prior 2018 Farm Bill language that made hemp with less than 0.3% delta-9 THC legal, meaning a typical serving could have up to three milligrams.
Barr and Craig’s bill sets a limit of 1% total THC on a dry-weight basis at the crop level, marking a significant increase from the currently enforced 2018 Farm Bill language and the stricter 2025 regulation. However, the Barr/Craig bill calls for the Food and Drug Administration to establish milligram caps at the final product level, and instates a cap of 5 milligrams for oral products and 50 milligrams for inhalable and topical products if the agency does not establish standards within a year’s time.
The 60-page bill includes several regulatory boundaries to address some of the biggest concerns about the largely unregulated 2018 language.
The bill would require THC limit testing throughout multiple stages of production, prohibit synthetic cannabinoids, set a 21-year-old age limit for purchase, and set package and marketing standards aimed at ensuring products are not marketed toward children. The latter point is one Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) took issue with as he championed the 2025 ban.
The bill also instructs the Treasury to impose a five-cents-per-milligram tax on hemp-derived beverages, carving out beverages from a flat 5% tax on other hemp-derived products, thereby gaining the support of several alcohol trade groups for the bill.
“We believe this strikes the right balance — allowing farmers to continue growing a profitable, legitimate crop while ensuring intoxicating hemp products are appropriately regulated as adult-only products with strict age restrictions for individuals under 21 and a ban on marketing towards children,” Barr told the Washington Examiner.
Craig called it a bill that “will give regulatory clarity to Minnesota farmers, brewers and small business owners and provide an alternative to short-sighted federal policies that threaten Minnesota jobs and consumer choice,” in a statement.
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Barr also addressed the 1% total THC standard, saying that by adopting a total standard, “rather than focusing on a single cannabinoid, the bill provides a practical, science-based approach to regulating intoxicating products.”
Barr and Craig’s bill, summarized as a bill to “preserve lawful hemp commerce while protecting consumers from high-THC synthetic intoxicants,” has enjoyed the backing of most of the hemp industry. Hemp producers were largely looking for a bill that would reform the ban language but outline more regulations than the 2018 farm bill, to root out bad actors.
Jim Higdon, co-founder of Kentucky-based Cornbread Hemp, touted the bill in a conversation with the Washington Examiner, calling it a “responsible framework for responsible products.” He also noted how significant it is for the industry to have Barr and Craig’s names on the bill.
“To have two middle America states with prominent members stand up as co-sponsors for this is, you know, really sort of an indication of how far this conversation has come,” Higdon said. “Speaking as a Kentuckian running a Kentucky-based business, having the odds-on favorite of replacing Senator McConnell being on our side in a demonstrable way is incredibly important in this moment.”
But on the drug safety side of the hemp conversation, advocates are frustrated with the continued efforts by members of Congress to roll back a standard they see as fair and safe for Americans.
Kevin Sabet, the president and CEO of the drug safety policy advocacy group Smart Approaches to Marijuana, called the hemp industry a “public health disaster” in a statement to the Washington Examiner. He added that he believes Congress “should be closing this loophole once and for all – not making it permanent.”
“Last year, 76 U.S. Senators voted to crack down on this failed policy because they recognized it wasn’t working,” Sabet said, referring to the 2025 vote on the hemp-banning language, which was passed as part of a deal to fund the government after a 43-day shutdown.
“It’s deeply disappointing to see lawmakers like Sen. Tim Sheehy, Rep. Andy Barr and Rep. Angie Craig not only trying to reverse that bipartisan progress, but also trying to undo one of the strongest bipartisan votes Congress has taken on drug policy in years by expanding the very market that’s putting more addictive, high-potency THC products within reach of kids,” Sabet said.
According to Marijuana Moment, Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-MT) spoke in support of a regulatory hemp bill to replace the 2025 language in a call with the organization Hemp Industry and Farmers of America in July.
Reps. Tim Moore (R-NC) and Mark Veasey (D-TX) have joined Barr and Craig as cosponsors of the bill. Introduced on July 22, it has been referred to the House Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, Agriculture, and Transportation and Infrastructure Committees for now.
The other bills introduced on the topic, including a bill to delay the ban from going into effect in November, have not progressed in either chamber.
The current Senate farm bill negotiations have seemingly shut out any amendments to the hemp language on the farm bill itself. Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman (R-AR) released an updated draft of the proposed farm bill on Friday ahead of the committee markup next week. Boozman’s proposal did not address hemp.
As far as where the White House stands, President Donald Trump called on Congress to reform the hemp ban in April.
“I am calling on Congress to update the Law to ensure that Americans can continue to access the full-spectrum CBD products they have come to rely on, and that help them, while preserving Congress’s intent to restrict the sale of products that pose Health risks,” Trump wrote on Truth Social in April.
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There are just over three months left for drug safety advocates to stave off any last-minute changes to their impending hemp ban before it takes effect on Nov. 12.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Craig’s office for comment.
