A Republican senator is previewing forthcoming bipartisan legislation to reverse the scheduled federal recriminalization of hemp THC products this year and replace it with a new regulatory system that includes age limits and taxes.
Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-MT) said the issue is “important to me personally” as a wounded veteran “who has a lot of friends who’ve gone through various stages of healing after the war” and also as someone who represents an agriculture-focused state.
“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,” the GOP lawmaker said during a Zoom meeting with members of the group Hemp Industry & Farmers of America (HIFA) on Wednesday. “That’s going to be good for America.”
Sheehy said there is a “bipartisan group coalescing around” the issue, citing lawmakers such as Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) who he is partnering with hemp reform legislation that he said will be introduced “relatively soon.”
“We’re contemplating a number of legislative actions here that support the hemp industry.”
The senator, who has separately championed veterans-focused psychedelics legislation, noted that the Trump administration has been pushing Congress to delay, amend or alter the planned hemp ban and has also been taking steps to accelerate therapeutic access to substances such as psilocybin and ibogaine.
“They’ve signaled support for a lot of non-standard treatments, a lot of non-standard drugs, a lot of non-standard substances that historically—by historically I mean hundreds of years ago—have been used for a long time, but in the last 50 years have been restricted from usage,” Sheehy said.
Hemp derivatives with less than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC on a dry-weight basis were federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill that President Donald Trump signed during his first term in office. But late last year, Trump signed new legislation containing provisions that will redefine hemp to make it so only products with 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container will remain legal after November 12.
In a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) last month, White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought said the administration wants lawmakers to “ensure the fair treatment of hemp products”—specifically citing legislation that would keep many hemp products legal that are currently set to be recriminalized this year, add labeling requirements and institute new taxes on sales, among other regulatory reforms.
During the meeting with industry representatives on Wednesday, Sheehy noted how hemp products have “continuously proved to be effective in helping” veterans dealing with PTSD, traumatic brain injury and chronic pain—especially as an alternative to opioids and alcohol.
The senator also responded to questions from HIFA members who asked about the specific details of the soon-to-be introduced hemp reform legislation.
In response to one person who noted that hemp farmers often have to destroy a significant percentage of their crops due to compliance issues, Sheehy said that his legislation as drafted would raise the threshold for legal hemp crops to 1 percent THC, up from the current 0.3 percent limit.
“This has all been obviously crafted with industry and farmer input,” he said. “And we’ve heard from the various stakeholders that they feel this will give enough certainty and flexibility for crop cultivation, that this will give the security and the safety net they need to to be able to invest in this.”
Replying to a separate question about taxes on hemp products, Sheehy said that the rate of 5 cents per milligram of THC for beverages that is currently in the bill, along with a 5 percent user fee for other hemp-derived products for interstate commerce, is “a place where the business can thrive.”
“It’s still a fair balance between the producers and the taxpayers and the consumers that strikes that middle ground,” he said. “Now, of course, we’ve got to get this passed. It’s got to go through negotiation and conference. That could change.”
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On that note, the senator said that the bill is “not going to be perfect out the gate.”
“I think in trying to get something done bipartisan and get it approved by the admin and get it passed into law, we’re going to have to accept close enough and good enough initially, and hopefully tweak it later,” he said.
Other issues addressed during the call included how to keep children from accessing intoxicating hemp products and protecting the ability of companies to engage in interstate commerce.
Ultimately, Sheehy expressed optimism that Congress could pass legislation to keep hemp products legal this year.
“When we have an actual profitable crop that there’s genuine free market demand for that crop, and we have the ability to grow that crop in America and sell it profitably with free market enterprise reigning, and it’s not even government subsidized—it’s silly not to let that thrive,” the senator said.
“Now, yes, there’s a limit to that. We don’t want to be growing opium and you know heroin all that stuff and cocaine,” he said. “I get it, but this is not that. And I think it’s important that we institute a legal framework around this because if we don’t, it’ll always be perceived as one of these. It’ll still be tucked in the corner of a fringe drug that’s bad and has to be banned. I think if we bring it into the light, we regulate it, we provide a framework around it. It’s going to be accepted it’s going to thrive.”
Meanwhile, the former head of the Department of Homeland Security under the first Trump administration recently sent a letter warning congressional against keeping hemp THC products legal, claiming that reversing the ban that is set to take effect later this year would “undermine public health” and “embolden foreign criminal actors.”
The Trump administration, however, “welcomes the opportunity to work with the Congress to, at a minimum, update the statutory definition of final hemp-derived cannabinoid products to allow Americans to benefit from access to appropriate full-spectrum CBD products,” OMB separately said last month, “while preserving the Congress’s intent to restrict the sale of products that pose serious health risks.”
The call to avert a broad prohibition on hemp CBD products was included in a statement of administration policy about an annual agriculture spending bill that passed the House of Representatives.
Several lawmakers had filed amendments to that legislation to keep hemp products legal, but each was either blocked by the House Rules Committee from advancing to a floor vote or withdrawn by its sponsor.
“The Administration supports advancement of this legislation, but looks forward to addressing its concerns prior to enactment,” OMB said in its statement of administration policy. “The Administration looks forward to working with the Congress to provide more input as the bill’s legislative process unfolds.”
In April, the president himself urged congressional lawmakers to again redefine hemp to avoid recriminalization of full-spectrum CBD products.
“I am calling on Congress to update the Law to ensure that Americans can continue to access the full-spectrum CBD products they have come to rely on, and that help them, while preserving Congress’s intent to restrict the sale of products that pose Health risks,” Trump said in a Truth Social post on the same day his administration announced it is moving forward with rescheduling marijuana.
“We must get this done RIGHT and FAST, especially for those who saw that CBD helps them,” he said. “Plus, I am told it will also help our GREAT FARMERS, who we love, and will always be there for.”
Industry advocates say that the law as enacted last year not only threatens to prohibit intoxicating and synthetic cannabinoid products but also stands to remove popular full-spectrum CBD products that many Americans use therapeutically from the market.
“ONE in FIVE adults used it in the past year, and many say it improved their chronic pain enormously,” the president said in his social media post, adding that hemp-derived CBD “has made a HUGE difference for so many people.”
He also referenced a new initiative the administration launched in April to cover up to $500 worth of hemp-derived products each year for eligible Medicare patients. The program being implemented by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) focuses largely on CBD but also allows products to have up to 3 milligrams of total THC per serving.
“In December, I signed a very important Executive Order calling for Research and Innovation for Hemp-derived CBD,” Trump said. “Our wonderful Dr. Mehmet Oz moved fast to follow the directive in the Executive Order, and launched a model for some Seniors earlier this month. But more must be done!”
“Please get it done, and SOON,” the president said in reference to a congressional fix for the broad recriminalization set to take effect in November. “Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
It’s not clear how far Trump wants to scale back the scope of the scheduled federal restrictions on hemp products and what kinds of revised THC rules and limitations he would prefer to sign into law.
As Marijuana Moment reported last month, a Republican congresswoman is circulating draft legislation that would keep hemp THC beverages legal under federal law, creating a carve-out from the broad recriminalization of products derived from the crop that is set to take effect later this year.
The Hemp-Derived Beverage Regulatory Clarity Act from Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-TX), in its current form, would allow adults over 21 to purchase and consume hemp THC drinks with up to 5 milligrams of delta-9 THC per serving. It would also impose a federal tax of 10 cents per milligram of any hemp-derived cannabinoid contained within such beverages.
The National Restaurant Association, which represents the industry, recently sent a letter urging congressional leaders to delay the federal recriminalization of hemp THC beverages that is scheduled to take effect later this year and replace it with a regulatory framework that “ensures consumer safety while meeting growing market demand” for the products as an alternative to alcohol.
A U.S. Department of Agriculture report published in April shows that farmers in the U.S. grew three-quarters of a billion dollars worth of hemp crops in 2025—a 64 percent increase from the prior year.
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