Bipartisan Hemp Bill Seeks to Undo 2025 Ban with Three Months Left

A bipartisan effort led by Reps. Andy Barr and Angie Craig aims to overturn the November 2025 hemp-ban language that would render most hemp products illegal after Nov. 12. Their Lawful Hemp Protection Act proposes a 1% total THC ceiling at the crop level, while tasking the FDA with establishing product-level milligram caps, defaulting to 5 mg for oral and 50 mg for inhalable or topical products if standards are not set within a year.

The legislation also mandates testing at multiple production stages, bans synthetic cannabinoids, enforces a 21-year-old purchase age, and imposes packaging and marketing rules to keep products away from children. A targeted tax of five cents per milligram is slated for hemp-derived beverages, earning support from alcohol trade groups. The bill has drawn praise from hemp producers such as Jim Higdon of Cornbread Hemp, but faces criticism from drug-policy groups like Smart Approaches to Marijuana, whose leader Kevin Sabet calls the effort a public-health disaster. Introduced on July 22, it has been referred to several House committees, while the Senate farm bill negotiations have so far excluded hemp reforms.