Hemp

Mitch McConnell's Hemp Ban Betrays the Industry He Helped Create

Federal prohibition of hemp-derived THC products would destroy a $37.5 billion industry to solve a problem states are already handling.

Tosin Akintola | 6.10.2026 10:45 AM

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(Illustration: Midjourney)

When Sen. Mitch McConnell (R–Ky.) introduced the Hemp Farming Act of 2018, which legalized hemp nationwide, he claimed the legislation would allow states to "conduct their own oversight plans" and "give the hemp industry the tools" to "create jobs and new opportunities" across the nation. McConnell neglected to mention that those jobs and opportunities had to align with his narrow definition of acceptable hemp uses.

Last November, McConnell codified his disapproval of the hemp industry's success with an amendment to the government funding bill passed that month. The provision bans the sale of any "hemp-derived cannabinoid product" with more than 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container. The ban, which takes effect this November, will prohibit the sale of edibles, tinctures, beverages, and vape cartridges containing hemp-derived THC.

The 2018 farm bill definition of hemp includes any part of the cannabis plant containing less than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC, the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. The definition also includes "all hemp derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers," as........

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