WASHINGTON – The House Committee on Agriculture is conducting a hearing on the Farm Bill, which is up for its 5-year renewal after being continued from last year. The 2018 Farm Bill made the production and sale of hemp and hemp products legal for the first time in decades.
The National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA), the largest trade association representing legal cannabis businesses, strongly supports the continued legal access to hemp products and is calling on Congress to regulate products containing intoxicating THC derived from hemp. Proposed controls on these products largely mirror what is already being done to regulate marijuana products and alcohol, such as third party safety testing, product labeling, and restricting sales to adults over 21.
The trade group recently published a position paper “Navigating the Future of Cannabinoid Regulation: Balancing Safety, Innovation, and Consumer Access,” calling for a new federal regulatory framework for intoxicating cannabinoid products derived from hemp, marijuana, or biosynthesis.
NCIA is also urging Congress to increase the total allowance for total THC in hemp crops from 0.3% to 1%, which is consistent with the policies of other hemp-producing nations. The current low THC threshold has forced many farmers to exit the industry for fear that they will have to destroy an entire crop if the total content is slightly above this arbitrary threshold. The association is also advocating for reasonable limitations on THC content per-serving for finished hemp-derived products that align with dosage limits outlined by state programs (typically 5-10 mg per-serving).
“Congress has the opportunity to protect public health and safety while fostering the success of thousands of small businesses in the cannabis industry by enacting sensible regulations for both hemp- and marijuana-derived cannabinoid products,” said Aaron Smith, CEO & Co-founder of the National Cannabis Industry Association. “The hemp-derived THC business is booming in this country and these products are here to stay. It’s just common sense to enact regulations that ensure they are tested for safety and potency, labeled accordingly, and not made available to minors.”
Just over half of Americans live in a state that has made cannabis legal for adults over 21 and three out of four Americans live in a state that has legalized cannabis for medical use. A November 2023 Gallup survey found that 70% of Americans support making cannabis legal for adults and a recent Pew Research Center poll found that less than 10% of Americans still support marijuana prohibition.
Laws to make cannabis legal for adults have passed in 24 states as well as the District of Columbia and the territories of CNMI and Guam, and 38 states as well as several territories have comprehensive medical cannabis laws.
About NCIA
The National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) is the largest cannabis trade association in the U.S. and the only organization representing small and independent cannabis-related businesses at the national level. NCIA promotes the growth of a responsible, sustainable, and inclusive cannabis industry and works for a favorable social, economic, and regulatory environment for that industry throughout the United States.
