Most senators who vote on this bill are not voting on the basis of the hemp thing in either direction. That's why all the headlines are about the tactic of sneaking it into a "too big to fail" budget bill.

There was an opportunity for this bit to be removed from the bill.

76 of 100 voted to keep it. This, is like, literally the entire point of discussion in this part of the thread? I don't understand where your confusion lies.

Are you saying it was an amendment? That it not what I get from this or any articles I've seen about it.

TFA:

> On Sunday, Senate leadership inserted a hemp-recriminalization clause into the must-pass funding bill

> ...

> Not a standalone bill. Not a debate on cannabis reform.

Seems like it wasn't a full Senate vote on a specific amendment, but the bill as a whole. I've elsewhere seen it stated as McConnell acting alone.

Edit: as I googled around, I found that Rand Paul attempted to use an amendment to remove the language, and it failed. But people vote on amendments for all sorts of strategic reasons. For example maybe they felt the amendment would kill the bill, because house and senate bills need to match, and the terms had already been negotiated.

> For example maybe they felt the amendment would kill the bill, because house and senate bills need to match, and the terms had already been negotiated.

I don't recall ever hearing of reconciliation being a deal-breaker.

Also, if Senate leadership inserted the clause, that means that it wasn't in the House's version to begin with.

Rand Paul's vote was, like, specifically for this, and the house is clamoring for the hemp stuff even less.

This is Mitch McConnell's crusade.

Honest question but how is hemp competing with weed? Are these different plants?

The product being sold at your local dispensary is produced, marketed, distributed, and sold by an entirely different chain of businesses and people than the product being sold at your local head shop.

THCa/Delta8/similar products are produced under an oversight in the hemp legislation and different businesses are taking advantage of that than those involved in the legal marijuana trade.

Hemp is classified as below .3% THC (compared to old-school weed strains at 15% and modern levels at mid 30%s). Hemp is male and female, and trash in potency, but THC and other products derived from it are fair game in some jurisdictions, or a grey area.

It is certainly a different market than legal, high potency THC, as well as medical.

> compared to old-school weed strains at 15% and modern levels at mid 30%s)

These levels are still primarily based on THCa content, not Delta9 THC. Even your regulated legal flower is very low in D9 THC.

> It is certainly a different market than legal, high potency THC, as well as medical.

Much of it is literally the exact same. They are growing the exact same strains and cultivars as the regulated legal marijuana industry, just making sure to harvest and process them in a way that prevents the decarboxylation of THCa into D9 THC from going over .3%

It is quite literally the same and the distinction between hemp and marijuana is entirely arbitrary as defined by a shitty and ignorant law.

> how is hemp competing with weed? Are these different plants?

I live in Wyoming, where weed remains technically illegal. The 'legal' weed is trucked in from Montanta and sold at farmers' markets. The hemp is sold at the liquor store check-out counter.

I'm surprised a lot of people missed this, but hemp growth actually causes thc plants to lower their cbd because of unexpected pollination. you can't grow them in the open near each other

There's a lot of confusion here.

The hemp products in question are not, like, hemp rope. They're just pot that is classified as hemp because they are harvested and processed in such a way that keeps the D9 THC below .3% at the time of testing.

If you were to go look at a growing operation for someone making THCa flower and then go look at a growing operation for someone making regulated legal marijuana, they would be virtually indistinguishable.

The humorous part though, is that the 'legal' growers screaming about the 'unregulated' competition and for this law, are actually the outlaws breaking federal law and totally non-scrutinized by federal regulation (other than the fact it's outright illegal).

It is the absolute worst case of gas lighting. The literal, federally unregulated criminals were screeching that the people obeying the law and following the regulations (even if in a way legislators didn't expect) were unregulated cowboys who were 'skirting the law.'

It's absolutely comical if you think about it. And somehow, this argument actually won.

I see both sides of it.

Many of the state legalized programs do have significantly higher standards because they are explicitly regulating for things intended to be consumed by humans, while the federal regulations for hemp are focused in an entirely different area.

As a consumer, I would prefer to be purchasing the more stringently regulated state-legalized product. But that would require I live in a state that has legalized it.

Instead, my options are (at least for another year), purchase the less stringently regulated "hemp" products or the entirely unregulated stuff grown god knows where by god knows who with no recourse if it turns out they've been spraying their crop with leftover lead arsenate.

It's the same plant, but hemp refers to the leaves and plant matter that isn't the THC-rich flower buds.

They are the same species, but it's a Brussel-sprouts vs Broccoli type situation where they started as the same plant but have been selectively bred for different purposes

The THCa/Delta8 stuff is not brussel-sprouts vs. broccoli. They difference is in timing around harvest and process. They're growing many of the exact same cultivars as what is sold in a proper dispensary (and indeed, much of what is sold in dispensaries would actually qualify because they actually have very low levels of Delta9 in them)

You can effectively just under-cure the exact same plant and get something that comes in under the limit.