On Monday night, the United States Senate passed legislation that effectively bans intoxicating hemp beverages from being sold as part of the package to reopen the federal government. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) included language in the Agriculture Appropriations portion of the bill designed to close the “hemp loophole” created by the 2018 Farm Bill.
The new language changes the definition of hemp from the previous Farm Bill language to preclude all but naturally occurring derivatives of hemp products with lower than 0.3% THC content by dry weight. It essentially bans intoxicating hemp products, delta-8 products, synthetic products and more. While the bill closes the so-called loophole, it doesn’t go into effect for one year from the date of enactment of the legislation, and there is no guidance as to how the ban will be enforced.
In a relatively rare situation where Senators from the same state and party opposed each other publicly, Kentucky’s other Republican Senator Rand Paul offered an amendment to strip the language, calling it a direct attack on Kentucky farmers who have made a living producing hemp. The Senate ultimately side-stepped taking direct action on Paul’s amendment by using a parliamentary procedure called “tabling the amendment,” which sets aside the amendment without a formal up or down vote.
“It is unfortunate that the Senate decided to ban, rather than regulate, intoxicating hemp beverages,” said Jon Taets, director, government relations at NACS. “We have found across many product categories that prohibition doesn’t work. Sound regulation allowing responsible retailers to sell these products is a better approach and we will continue to work with the Congress toward an outcome that works for the industry.”
NACS has advocated for stronger regulation of intoxicating hemp products and is opposed to an outright ban. Such products represent a growing product category in parts of the country where state laws allow the products to be sold. NACS believes the convenience industry is the best channel for selling age-gated products and an appropriate regulatory scheme should continue to allow the products to be sold in this channel.
During the yearlong implementation period, NACS will continue to advocate for sensible and responsible regulation which allows our industry to participate in the market.
Read more about intoxicating hemp beverages in the August 2025 issue of NACS Magazine feature “A Seed of Opportunity.”