A government funding deal that could end the longest government shutdown in US history faced a stumbling block — intoxicating hemp.
UPDATE: The Senate has rejected an amendment to the spending bill that (76-24) would have removed language banning hemp products containing THC. More on this tomorrow.
What happened in the lead-up:
On October 1 2025, a government shutdown kicked in after Congress failed to pass a measure that would have maintained the flow of federal funds need to keep operating at full-steam. As a result, some US government services have been paused and many federal employees have been put on unpaid leave or are working without pay.
Various attempts have been made to get agreement on a funding deal.
A provision in a government funding deal being considered right now contains language that would ban the unregulated sale of intoxicating hemp-based products. However, Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul is objecting to it. He wants to see a vote on his amendment to remove the language which he believes will “unfairly target Kentucky’s hemp industry” before allowing the bill to clear the Senate.
“Just to be clear: I am not delaying this bill. The timing is already fixed under Senate procedure,” said Senator Paul, who filed the amendment yesterday. “But there is extraneous language in this package that has nothing to do with reopening the government and would harm Kentucky’s hemp farmers and small businesses. Standing up for Kentucky jobs is part of my job.”
The US Hemp Roundtable was also critical of the language.
“Despite misleading claims this language protects non-intoxicating CBD products, the reality is that more than 90% of non-intoxicating hemp-derived products contain levels of THC that are greater than the proposed cap of .4 mg per container.”
The group says if passed with the existing language, the legislation would jeopardize more than 300,000 American jobs, would wipe out 95% of the industry, while costing states $1.5 billion in lost tax revenue
“We support Senator Rand Paul’s efforts to push back on this language and will continue to fight alongside him for a regulated, safe, and robust hemp industry,” says a statement.
The intoxicating hemp saga has all come from an omission in the 2018 Farm Bill that legalised industrial hemp. The only limit on THC content was in relation to delta-9, what was the most common intoxicating cannabinoid. But THC can be created in various other forms such as delta-8 and delta-10, which can be created by manipulating the non-intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD).
