Mitch McConnell’s Hemp Ban Betrays the Industry He Helped Create

When Sen. Mitch McConnell (R–Ky.) introduced the Hemp Farming Act of 2018, which legalized hemp nationwide, he claimed the legislation would allow states to “conduct their own oversight plans” and “give the hemp industry the tools” to “create jobs and new opportunities” across the nation. McConnell neglected to mention that those jobs and opportunities had to align with his narrow definition of acceptable hemp uses.

Last November, McConnell codified his disapproval of the hemp industry’s success with an amendment to the government funding bill passed that month. The provision bans the sale of any “hemp-derived cannabinoid product” with more than 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container. The ban, which takes effect this November, will prohibit the sale of edibles, tinctures, beverages, and vape cartridges containing hemp-derived THC.

The 2018 farm bill’s definition of hemp includes any part of the cannabis plant containing less than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC, the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. The definition also includes “all hemp derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers,” as long as they contain less than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC. That legalized a variety of hemp-derived products containing delta-8 THC, an isomer with effects similar to those of delta-9 THC, or tetrahydrocannabinolic acid, which converts to delta-9 THC when heated.

For years, such products, including drinks sold by liquor stores and other retailers, have been widely available across the country, accounting for a large share of the hemp industry’s sales. McConnell’s ban is expected to wipe out 95 percent of the hemp industry’s $37.5 billion retail market. It is also sure to significantly reduce jobs in an industry that, according to the cannabis and hemp research firm Whitney Economics, employs more than 375,000 people.

Last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reports, the value of industrial hemp production reached $739 million, a 64 percent increase over 2024 and a record high. Thanks to the ban on hemp-derived THC, farmers and manufacturers will have a lot of inventory and fewer avenues to offload their product.

In an effort to keep the multibillion-dollar industry from collapsing, lawmakers have proposed amendments to various bills that would “postpone implementation” of the ban or “create an entirely new regulatory and tax structure for hemp-derived THC products,” The Hill reports. Rep. Andy Barr (R–Ky.), who is heavily favored to replace the retiring McConnell in the Senate, has announced his own legislation to regulate the industry, aptly called the Lawful Hemp Protection Act. The bill would ban synthetic cannabinoids and direct the Food and Drug Administration to set serving size and potency limits for hemp-derived products.

Facing the threat of extinction, the hemp industry has signaled its willingness to submit to federal regulation. It supports bills—including the Cannabinoid Safety and Regulation Act, introduced by Sen. Ron Wyden (D–Ore.) in December, and the Hemp Enforcement, Modernization, and Protection Act, introduced by Rep. Morgan Griffith (R–Va.) in January—that would set minimum age requirements, establish standards for manufacturing and labeling, and ban synthetic products.

McConnell has defended his opposition to psychoactive hemp derivatives as an attempt to “keep these dangerous products out of the hands of children,” Louisville Public Media reports. As evidence of the threat posed by these products, he has argued that the colorful packaging and “candy-like products” are misleading, leading kids to ingest synthetic THC that’s often “more potent than marijuana.”

There’s also concern that dosage, labelling, and ingredients vary across the industry, leaving consumers unaware of what they’re taking.

That concern seems to be well founded. According to a 2023 study in the Journal of Cannabis Research, 96 percent of hemp products were under the legal limit for delta-9 THC, but 66 percent listed the wrong dosage. The study also found that manufacturers provided lab reports for 85 percent of the products, although 71 percent of the analyses did not “check for impurities.”

Such issues, of course, won’t be resolved by driving intoxicating hemp products underground. To the contrary, the black market is notorious for uncertain quality and purity. And like marijuana prohibition, McConnell’s crusade against hemp will likely create a black market for the products he wants to ban.

In any event, a federal ban is a heavy-handed way to protect consumers from the small percentage of potentially harmful products. Hemp products with any detectable amount of THC are already regulated at the state level, the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University notes, and several states have age and advertising restrictions.

Even in states with less stringent laws, such as North Carolina, the industry tends to regulate itself. In Raleigh, many breweries, pubs, and restaurants choose to restrict the sale of THC-infused products to customers 21 or older, despite a state law that sets a minimum age of 18.

Instead of creating a new regulatory regime, federal lawmakers could recognize the rights of adults to choose what they consume. But it seems that lawmakers have learned little from the misadventures of marijuana prohibition.