Griffin joins call for look at hemp product access
WASHINGTON — Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin and a coalition of state attorneys general are asking congressional agricultural leaders to address hemp in the next farm bill, arguing the most recent measure encouraged a “proliferation of intoxicating hemp products across the nation.”
Griffin and Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, both Republicans, attracted 19 Republican and Democrat peers on the Wednesday letter to leaders of the Senate and House agriculture committees, in which the state officials urge a review of the 2018 farm bill’s language addressing hemp and other cannabis products with low delta-9 THC content, marijuana’s high-inducing compound.
The attorneys general sent the letter to the Senate and House agriculture committee leaders amid ongoing talks on Capitol Hill concerning the next farm bill, a sweeping legislative package covering agriculture, rural development and nutrition assistance programs.
Sen John Boozman, R-Ark., of Rogers, received the letter given his position as the top Republican on the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee.
“Regardless of your Committees’ intentions, the reality is that this law has unleashed on our states a flood of products that are nothing less than a more potent form of cannabis, often in candy form that is made attractive to youth and children — with staggering levels of potency, no regulation, no oversight, and a limited capability for our offices to rein them in,” the attorneys general wrote.
The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 placed marijuana as a Schedule I substance, strictly restricting its use based on a high potential for misuse. The statute affect
ed all cannabis products, including hemp grown for making various products, including food, fabrics and construction materials.
Through the 2014 farm bill, Congress established a pilot program allowing state departments of agriculture and universities to cultivate industrial hemp for research purposes, as well as permitting hemp production where allowed.
Rusty Rumley, a senior staff attorney at the nonpartisan National Agricultural Law Center in Fayetteville, said Congress considered this language as a way to understand industrial hemp production following the long pause.
“It was supposed to be more of an experimental period for people to start figuring out all the things we don’t know anymore,” he said.
Federal lawmakers removed hemp from the federal Controlled Substances Act in the 2018 farm bill, designating hemp separate from marijuana based on the low THC concentration. Marijuana, however, remains a Schedule I drug.
The statute additionally reduced restrictions on interstate commerce for hemp products.
“Even though it does have traces amounts of delta-9 THC, Congress said if you’re below 0.3% of total THC on a dry weight basis, you’re considered industrial hemp and you no longer fall under the Controlled Substances Act,” Rumley said.
The 21 attorneys general said federal lawmakers may have intended to use the 2018 farm bill to reintroduce industrial hemp as a commodity, but the law’s language instead allowed the exploitation of hemp for other purposes.
“The result that has been seen is excessively potent products that are manufactured under fewer controls than in states that have legalized cannabis,” they wrote.
Federal lawmakers removed hemp from the federal Controlled Substances Act in the 2018 farm bill, designating hemp separate from marijuana based on the low THC concentration. Marijuana, however, remains a Schedule I drug.
The attorneys general estimate the 2018 farm bill fostered a $28 billion market “forcing cannabis-equivalent products into our economies regardless of states’ intentions to legalize cannabis use, and dangerously undermining regulations and consumer protections in states where adult-use legal cannabis programs are already in place.”
The group noted local and state agencies face challenges in responding to health and safety concerns, including poorly manufactured products and the threat of minors consuming goods.
“As hemp-based THC-infused products increase in popularity, particularly edibles, illicit suppliers have begun co-opting legitimate brand names and packaging to sell candy, snacks, and cereal that are intoxicating and confusing to consumers,” they added. “These copycat hemp products place children at exceptional risk.”
The coalition timed its letter amid discussions regarding the next farm bill. Congress was supposed to pass a new package last fall, but congressional agriculture leaders agreed to extend the 2018 law through this September amid ongoing discussions.
“The definition of hemp should be amended to clarify that there is no federal hemp intoxicants loophole, and the 2023 reauthorization should reaffirm that members of Congress do not intend to limit states in restrictions or regulations related to cannabinoids or any other derivatives of hemp which are deemed intoxicating,” they said.
Rumley acknowledged the next farm bill presents an opportunity for Congress to address the hemp market created because of the 2018 measure.
He added lawmakers could consider addressing other cannabis products through the farm bill, including delta-8 THC goods.
“One of the things that Congress is going to think about in the next farm bill is how do you define industrial hemp, and do you change the definition of the no more than 0.3% total THC on a total dry-weight basis,” Rumley said.
A federal judge issued a ruling last September blocking Arkansas from enforcing a statewide ban on products containing delta-8 THC and similar chemicals.
U.S. District Judge Billy Roy Wilson argued state officials can pass laws restricting hemp production, but any statute must include an exemption for interstate commerce.
Patrick Creamer, communications director for Republicans on the Senate Agriculture Committee, told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Wednesday that Boozman “appreciates Attorney General Griffin’s continued leadership on this issue as Congress considers solutions to these regulatory challenges.”
Republicans on the Senate Agriculture Committee hope to release their framework of the next farm bill in April.
Congressional Democrats have cautioned their Republican colleagues about inserting language affecting nutrition programs and conservation funding, noting impacting these matters would jeopardize Congress’ chances of passing a bipartisan farm bill this year.