Legislation to ban hemp-derived THC moves to U.S. House floor
[June 25, 2025]
By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – Although hemp legislation has stalled in the
Illinois General Assembly, a move to prohibit intoxicating hemp-derived
tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) products advanced in Congress this week.
The U.S. House Appropriations Committee included the provision as part
of the Fiscal Year 2026 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug
Administration, and Related Agencies Bill, which advanced out of
committee on Monday.
Jordan Davidson, government affairs director at Smart Approaches to
Marijuana, said the measure would ban intoxicating hemp products.
“What this legislation says is, ‘Look, we’re gonna take those products
off the shelves of gas stations around the country where they’re sold in
candy and candy-flavored products to kids of really any age.' It’s a
public health crisis, and finally Congress is doing something about it,”
Davidson told The Center Square.
Davidson said Illinois U.S. Rep. Mary Miller, R-Oakland, led efforts to
move the legislation.
“Representative Miller kind of took the initiative and said, ‘Hey, I
want to spearhead this. I want to protect our kids, protect our
communities and make sure that we’re not having increased access to
harmful products that are addicting our children and having detrimental
mental and physical health impact on those who use them,’” Davidson
said.
Illinois state Rep. La Shawn Ford, D-Chicago, said it’s sad that the
federal government would double down on a prohibition.
“It will make it a new war on drugs in the country and that’s
unfortunate, because we know prohibitions didn’t work and they still
don’t work. What we have now in process is another prohibition that will
cost taxpayers billions of dollars in prosecution and incarceration,”
Ford told The Center Square.
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Illinois U.S. Rep. Mary Miller, R-Hindsboro
Greg Bishop | The Center Square
Davidson said the only effective public health and safety solution
is to prevent intoxicating hemp products from being sold.
“Unfortunately, you can’t really tax and regulate this stuff. We
already saw a major loophole in the 2018 farm bill that Congress
passed that was signed into law that created this whole issue,”
Davidson said.
Ford said the congressional action could be a wake-up call for
Illinois to regulate Delta-8 hemp the way it regulates Delta-9
cannabis. He said a federal ban would prevent people from getting
loans to open or scale up their businesses and turn hemp into a cash
industry.
“It really puts the cartel in charge because it’s still going to be
sold on our streets in urban cities as cannabis was and is still
being sold illicitly,” Ford said.
The Illinois Healthy Alternatives Association has scheduled an event
to discuss the hemp regulatory environment in the state.
Ford is slated to be the roundtable moderator at Aspire Center on
Chicago’s West Side from 10 a.m. until noon July 10. The group plans
to hold additional events around the state.
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