Bipartisan duo introduce bill defining regulatory framework for hemp products

Reps. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) and Andy Barr (R-Ky.) on Wednesday introduced a bill designed to set up a clear regulatory framework for hemp and hemp-derived THC products.

The Lawful Hemp Protection Act would establish the first comprehensive federal regulatory framework for hemp products. Craig, the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, credited her state with being the model “for responsible hemp regulation.”

“My commonsense legislation will give regulatory clarity to Minnesota farmers, brewers and small business owners and provide an alternative to short-sighted federal policies that threaten Minnesota jobs and consumer choice,” she said in the statement.

Barr said the legislation would bring “certainty” to Kentucky farmers.

“Kentucky has demonstrated that hemp can be successfully regulated while supporting farmers and protecting consumers,” he said. “This legislation builds on that success by creating a national framework that rewards responsible producers, eliminates bad actors, and ensures consumers have confidence in the products they purchase.”

Barr’s office told The Hill that the legislation in the House has the White House’s approval. The Kentucky Republican is hopeful that there will soon be a companion bill in the Senate.

Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) last week said a similar hemp bill in the Senate was forthcoming as a “bipartisan group [was] coalescing around the issue.”

“I’m optimistic that in a hyperpartisan time when it appears like we can’t get anything passed, this might actually be a subject where we can see both executive and legislative success,” Sheehy told members of the group Hemp Industry & Farmers of America in a Zoom call last Wednesday, Marijuana Moment reported. “That’s going to be good for America.”

The framework introduced by Barr and Craig will separate industrial hemp from consumable hemp products, requiring finished products to undergo testing to ensure that the products comply with synthetic cannabinoid restrictions. Compounds found naturally in the plant are permitted.

To be approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), all hemp products would have to be cultivated, processed, finished and packaged within the U.S., according to the bill’s text. The FDA will regulate products with established maximum cannabinoid levels.

The measure would also set a 21-and-over age requirement to keep hemp products away from children. Packaging for products would need to have warning labels addressing pregnancy risks, impairment risks and other warnings deemed necessary by the U.S. Surgeon General.

These safety regulations extend to the enforcement of age restrictions and impaired driving provisions. Anyone under 21 who consumes hemp products could face civil penalties of up to $1,000 per violation. Law enforcement will handle hemp impairment while driving the same way driving while under the influence of alcohol or other drugs is handled.

The bill also establishes a “workable THC threshold of 1 percent total THC and [sets] consistent standards for cultivation” for farmers, ensuring that their work continues and that retailers can continue their business operations.

Legal hemp products are limited to a total of 0.4 milligrams per container of total THC, or any other cannabinoids with similar effects. Cannabinoids that are synthesized or manufactured outside the plant, such as delta-8 THC, are banned. 

The bill’s regulatory framework is modeled on the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau and the FDA’s oversight systems regulating tobacco and alcohol.

The bill’s announcement comes less than six months before hemp-derived intoxicants are effectively banned in November. According to the White House, “any final hemp-derived cannabinoid product containing these chemicals will be considered a Schedule I controlled substance under the hemp restriction regulations that are scheduled to take effect in November 2026.”

The ban was championed by Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who in 2018 led the charge to legalize hemp in that year’s farm bill with the intent that it be used in agriculture and textiles. The 2018 farm bill removed hemp from the controlled substances list in a bid to boost farmers’ income and expand production of the plant.

The hemp industry has grown in those eight years, transformed into a roughly $300 million a year industry, Craig’s office said. Minnesota alone is home to 132 licensed grow operations, 96 processors and over 2,000 retailers.

Kentucky produced over 4.3 million pounds of hemp, making it the second-largest state for hemp production after California, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in a 2024 report.

Groups including the Hemp Industry and Farmers of America (HIFA), U.S. Hemp Roundtable, and Hemp Beverage Alliance lauded the legislation.

“Reps. Craig and Barr understand that this isn’t a partisan issue – it’s about protecting farmers who planted in good faith, small business owners who built legal companies, and consumers who deserve safe, tested, legal products instead of being pushed into an unregulated market,” HIFA Executive Director Brian Swensen said.

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