Turns out that THC ended up having an outsized role in the ending of the government shutdown.
The spending bill that has caused deadlock for a record amount of time in the Senate finally had enough Democrats willing to back it and allow funding to flow through the federal government again, except for one snag: Rand Paul still wouldn’t agree to language that would ban THC from being in hemp products.
He introduced an amendment that would take this language out of the spending bill, but this was pretty quickly tabled with a 76-24 vote.
So looks like the loophole from the 2018 Farm Bill will finally be closed up.
“My amendment would strip the provision designed to regulate the hemp industry to death. The bill, as it now stands, overrides the regulatory frameworks of several states, cancels the collective decisions of hemp consumers and destroys the livelihoods of hemp farmers. And it couldn’t come at a worse time for America’s farmers. Times are tough for our farmers.”
Paul’s argument has been that due to the length in which this loophole has been around, an entire marketplace has opened up, and closing it now would leave much of his constituency out to dry.
Paul’s fellow Kentuckian, Mitch McConnell is at the complete other end of the debate, saying “companies have exploited a loophole,” and the revision will “keep the dangerous products out of the hands of children while preserving the hemp industry for farmers.”
For what it’s worth, President Trump is on McConnell’s side here, confirming his support through a spokesperson.
Read the original article at Marijuana Moment.
