| |  | Health on the Hill | Under the overall fight to reopen the government, there’s a smoldering topic that could cause a funding bill for agriculture and food agencies to go up in smoke: Hemp. → The hemp industry is pushing back against an attempt to include a cap on the amount of THC — the chemical component in a hemp plant that makes a person high — that’s allowed in hemp products. Advocates argue the provision, which is expected to be tucked into legislation funding agencies including the USDA and FDA, would decimate their businesses. As Jonathan S. Miller, general counsel for the trade group U.S. Hemp Roundtable, put it earlier today, alarm within the hemp industry is at “Defcon-1.” “We could see a complete ban and it could happen within the next few days,” Miller told my Washington Post colleague David Ovalle. → It’s an issue that doesn’t cut neatly across political lines, born out of a provision championed by Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) in 2018 legislation that legalized hemp-derived products, including intoxicating ones, even in states where marijuana isn’t legal. McConnell argues the language created an unintentional loophole that brought potentially dangerous products to market, including a hemp-derived product called delta-8. Meanwhile, fellow Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul has argued the change would crush hemp farmers and small businesses across the country and has previously threatened to hold up the funding measures. Rep. James Comer (R-Kentucky) led a letter of more than two-dozen bipartisan members to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) urging against the inclusion of the language in the appropriations bill. → Although not necessarily always harmful, public health officials worry the products — including delta-8 gummies, chocolates and drinks — can fool customers, particularly children, who don’t realize hemp products can have psychoactive effects. The FDA has warned that some manufacturers may use unsafe chemicals to convert CBD into delta-8. Last month, 39 attorneys general sent a letter to congressional leaders, urging lawmakers to clarify the definition of hemp-derived products to thwart products made by “bad actors.” The hemp industry has argued for guardrails — including limiting sales to people 21 and older, a prohibition on packaging that appeals to children, and labeling and testing of the products to ensure the contents are what’s inside the package. → The exact final legislative text isn’t yet clear as of this afternoon, but advocates argue that all of the proposals that have floated around thus far would effectively put a ban on most, if not all, hemp products. “You’re going to unwind an industry that has 330,000 jobs, that has an economic impact of $70 billion — and you’re going to unwind all of this with arbitrary numbers,” said Brian Swensen, the executive director of the Hemp Industry and Farmers of America, an industry group representing farmers, retailers, wholesalers and others in the supply chain. Swensen told me his members have been reaching out to members of Congress, inviting them to their businesses and facilities to help bring “more awareness and hopefully change hearts and minds.” “Because I do think that once they do sit down and meet with our folks, they're more prone to be open minded and change their opinion,” Swensen said. | 
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