President Donald Trump gave the hemp industry a political boost with an executive order directing officials to speed up the process of rescheduling marijuana and pursue Medicare coverage of CBD — moves the industry says strengthen its hand as Congress considers restrictions that could eliminate many popular hemp-derived products.
The hemp sector has been on the defensive since November, when Congress approved a provision in a government funding bill aimed at closing what critics call a major hemp loophole.
Industry leaders warn the language could effectively ban most hemp-derived consumer products, including full-spectrum CBD, and threaten companies when it takes effect next year.
Trump's order, released last week, was billed as a milestone in U.S. drug policy and followed heavy lobbying by the cannabis industry, including some of Trump's longtime friends and allies.
The directive also nods to the spending bill provision, calling on administration officials to work with lawmakers to update the law to keep certain hemp-derived CBD products available "while preserving the Congress' intent to restrict the sale of products that pose serious health risks."
Hemp-derived CBD is legal and comes from the cannabis plant. Full-spectrum CBD contains trace amounts of naturally occurring THC but is considered non-intoxicating.
Hemp itself is not scheduled, but under the spending bill's language, any hemp-derived product containing more than 0.4 milligrams of THC would be treated as cannabis rather than hemp.
Industry stakeholders say the executive order doesn't change the law — but it helps politically.
Jonathan Miller, general counsel for the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, called it a "direct rebuke" to the funding bill language.
"In terms of where the political discussion is going to go, it is definitely a lifeline and definitely gives us a whole lot more leverage to ensure that what Congress does in the next 11 months is going to be favorable for the industry," Miller told The Hill.
"We are very hopeful that now the president has spoken, that particularly Republicans in Congress will take heed, will go with the hemp industry and support getting rid of the ban," he added.
Hemp was legalized in the 2018 farm bill, but weak federal oversight helped fuel growth in products that critics say exploit the definition to produce intoxicating THC variants. The funding bill provides a one-year runway before restrictions take effect.
Thomas Winstanley, executive vice president and general manager at Edibles.com, told the outlet that companies will push for at least a six-month delay ahead of the Jan. 30 funding deadline. He said it was notable to hear a Republican president acknowledge potential health benefits.
"I think what is being signaled is that there are these two categories, cannabis and hemp, are very intrinsically related to one another … they need to have some concurrent path to regulation," Winstanley said.
The White House said in a fact sheet that hemp-derived cannabinoids "have potential to improve patient symptoms for common ailments and are frequently used by Americans."
"What this does, I think more broadly, is it creates a more earnest conversation with Congress, knowing that the executive branch is now signaling that cannabinoid-based products may have health efficacy," Winstanley said.
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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