House GOP wrestles with hemp ban delay in looming funding showdown

House leaders face a tight deadline to keep the government funded while contending with dissent over a Senate-drafted extension of a hemp-derived THC ban. The continuing resolution, which would keep spending authority alive until Dec. 11, also postpones the ban on intoxicating hemp products by a month, a move that Freedom Caucus chair Andy Harris condemns as endangering children. Roughly 40 percent of Senate Republicans opposed stripping the delay, suggesting comparable opposition among House Republicans.

Advocates and some GOP members, including Rep. Morgan Griffith, argue the pause is essential to develop a coherent regulatory scheme, whereas the administration hopes to use the window to negotiate a broader hemp legislation. Several bills are being drafted to either raise THC limits or create a regulated market for low-dose hemp drinks, but any amendment to the funding bill could send it back to the Senate. The final decision will determine whether the stricter THC thresholds, slated for Nov. 12, are enforced as written.