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Senator Rand Paul Warns Provision in the Appropriations Bill Would Destroy America's Hemp Industry

Amy Curtis
Amy Curtis  |  November 12, 2025 11:45 AM

The Senate-approved appropriations bill is going to the House for a vote today, and Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) is warning that some language in the bill will destroy America's booming hemp industry "overnight" and wipe out almost all legal hemp products overnight.

"Our farmers have turned to hemp as a lifeline when fertilizer, fuel, and equipment costs skyrocketed and crop prices fell. Instead of working with us to crack down on bad actors and synthetic cannabinoids, some in Congress chose prohibition," Paul wrote on X. "Kentucky jobs are not collateral. Our farmers are not bargaining chips."

Paul said he's not holding up the bill, but wants to draw attention to the language that could cost Kentuckians and other Americans jobs and access to perfectly legal products.

Here's more from The Hill:

Senate Republican and Democratic leaders say they need to resolve an objection from Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) about a provision in the government funding deal before they can accelerate consideration of the bill to end the 41-day shutdown.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters Monday morning there is only one “objector” to speeding up Senate consideration of the government funding package, referring to Paul, who wants to strip a provision from the package that would prevent the unregulated sale of intoxicating hemp-based products.

Advocates for hemp-based products are also sounding the alarm on this, and the far-reaching impact of such legislation.

Here's more:

On Sunday, Senate leadership inserted a hemp-recriminalization clause into the must-pass funding bill that would end the longest shutdown in American history, reported Marijuana Moment. On Monday, Cannabis Business Times confirmed that intoxicating hemp is being targeted as part of the three-bill spending package tied to reopening the government.

Not a standalone bill. Not a debate on cannabis reform. A shutdown ransom note.

What the bill actually does

The hemp language appears in the Agriculture–FDA spending bill, which is bundled into the shutdown deal. It would:

  • Redefine hemp to include total THC, not just delta-9 THC
  • Count any cannabinoids with “similar effects” toward that THC total
  • Prohibit synthesized cannabinoids or converted CBD intermediates
  • Cap finished hemp products at 0.4 milligrams total THC per container

Not 0.4 mg per gummy. Per entire bottle, bag, vape, beverage.

That wipes out full-spectrum tinctures, hemp seltzers, delta-8 anything and even most CBD oils.


Paul noted that things are tough for farmers. "For many farmers, hemp has proved to be a lifeline, a new cash crop. Farmers turn to growing hemp to mitigate the losses they've endured during this season of hardship. But that lifeline may soon be extinguished by this very legislation."

"The effective hemp ban included in this spending package is a result, we're told, of bad actors skirting the legal limits by overly enhancing the concentration of THC in their products," Paul continued. "The hemp industry, myself, and others have come together, and we have been willing to negotiate to get rid of the bad actors. And yet, instead, we're met with legislation that would be prohibition."