Hemp Provision Included in Shutdown Package Will Impact Travel Centers
The U.S. House of Representatives voted 222-209 late November 12 to advance a short-term continuing resolution that included full-year appropriations bills for Agriculture, Veterans Affairs, and the Legislative Branch appropriations, and a one-year extension of the Farm Bill.
Of importance to NATSO members, a last-minute provision that restricts hemp-derived cannabinoid products was added to the Agriculture-FDA appropriations section of the stopgap spending bill. Language added to the Agriculture-FDA appropriations section effectively bans intoxicating hemp products (including delta-8 THC, synthetic cannabinoids, and similar derivatives). Many of these items are currently sold in retail convenience and travel center locations.
The provision would close a so-called “hemp loophole” created by the 2018 Farm Bill that has allowed unregulated THC products to be sold around the country, irrespective of state cannabis laws. The hemp provision would mean hundreds of now-legal THC products — most commonly sold as Delta-8 or Delta-9 — would no longer be legal to sell. It is currently federally legal to sell hemp-derived THC products as long as they contain no more than 0.3% THC by dry weight. The language in the new legislation imposes a total THC limit of 0.4 milligrams and would effectively ban those products for personal or household use.
A Republican summary of the provision said it would prevent 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.”
Kentucky Senator Rand Paul introduced an amendment that would have stripped out the language regulating the hemp industry; however the amendment failed 76-24.
The ban will not take effect until one year after enactment. The legislation does not offer guidance on how the new restrictions would be implemented or enforced.
For NATSO members, the move highlights how unrelated product regulations can be folded into must-pass spending bills with little notice.
NATSO is monitoring the situation closely to ensure that any regulatory changes impacting products sold in truck stops are implemented transparently and with sufficient time for industry compliance.
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