The government can reopen. But only if Congress agrees to something else first: Ban on intoxicating marijuana across the country.
As Marijuana Moment reports, Senate leadership on Sunday inserted a hemp-recriminalization clause into the funding bill required to pass muster legislation that would end the longest shutdown in U.S. history. On Monday, Cannabis Business Times confirmed that intoxicating cannabis is being targeted as part of a three-bill spending package tied to reopening the government.
No standalone bill. No debate on cannabis reform. A shutdown ransom note.
what does the bill actually do
Hemp language appears in the agriculture-FDA spending bill, which is included in the shutdown agreement. This would be:
- Redefine to include cannabis Total THCNot just delta-9 THC
- Count any cannabinoids with “similar effects” toward that THC total.
- Ban synthesized cannabinoids or altered CBD intermediates
- Cap on finished cannabis products 0.4 mg total THC per container
Not 0.4 mg per gummy. Per entire bottle, bag, vape, beverage.
This eliminates full-spectrum tinctures, hemp seltzers, anything delta-8, and even most CBD oils.
Jim Higdon, co-founder of Cornbread Hemp, told Marijuana Moment:
“The .4mg limit would make 100% cornbread hemp products illegal.”
he adds:
“It is a dark day for anyone with hope for the future when the schedule of cannabis in the US has been cancelled.”
Mitch McConnell’s U-turn
Senator Mitch McConnell pushed the 2018 Farm Bill which legalized hemp. Now he is insisting on closing the market of intoxicating cannabis.
UPDATE – November 10, 2025: In 2018, when marijuana legalization passed, McConnell celebrated it publicly. In comments recorded in the Congressional Record on April 12, 2018, he said: “Our bill would finally legalize cannabis and remove it from the list of controlled substances.” The same day, Senator Ron Wyden said, “Hemp does not produce the high associated with marijuana. The only thing you’re going to accomplish by smoking marijuana is wasting your breath, wasting your time, and wasting lighter fluid.” Those statements directly contradict McConnell’s 2025 argument that intoxicating hemp products were never the purpose of the Farm Bill.
He said:
“My 2018 hemp bill seeks to create an agricultural hemp industry, not open the door to the sale of unregulated, addictive, lab-made, hemp-derived substances without any safety framework.”
Thomas Winstanley, EVP and general manager of Edibles.com, responded in a statement sent to high time,
“Senator Mitch McConnell, architect of the 2018 Farm Bill, planted the hemp seeds, and now wants to scorch the soil by salting his own crop fields.”
He described banning legal cannabis as a move that would only push consumers into unregulated channels, writing:
“Banning legal marijuana products will not stop bad actors, it will only drive the market underground and further weaken consumer protections.”
Also Read: Big Liquor’s Marijuana Civil War: Brands Want a Break. Distributors want to sell THC.
Rand Paul says the Senate will have to fight him on this
Kentucky’s other senators are not on the board.
According to Politico, Rand Paul warned GOP leadership that he would slow down the shutdown agreement if marijuana was targeted.
“I would vote no, but it would take them five days to pass it,” Paul said.
He also accused his own party of trying to “kill the entire industry”.
This is not a theatre. Paul has done this before: Cannabis Business Times notes that he previously forced Senate leaders to remove similar cannabis-restriction language in July by threatening to block the funding package.
Two Kentucky senators. Both are supportive of American hemp. Now they are fighting over who will kill or save it.
economic hit
The numbers are overwhelming.
In an official press release sent to the US Hemp Roundtable high timeTells:
“The US Hemp Roundtable condemns the Senate’s latest proposed language to recriminalize hemp products, a harmful decision by Congress that threatens to decimate America’s $28.4 billion hemp industry and puts more than 300,000 American jobs at risk.”
“If passed, this legislation would decimate 95 percent of the industry, shuttering small businesses and American farms, while causing states to lose $1.5 billion in tax revenue.”
And:
“Our industry is being used as a pawn as leaders work to reopen the government.”
According to Lynnwood Times, marijuana represents an intoxicant. more than 80% of current industry revenue.
Cantrip CEO Adam Terry summarized the results in the Cultivated Daily newsletter:
“Every state program that has codified hemp products will be closed. Hemp farmers will go out of business. 330,000 Americans will lose their jobs. There is no ‘state legal’ hemp.”
Not everyone wants to save hemp
Some parts of the regulated cannabis industry are happy.
Chris Lindsay, director of state advocacy and public policy at ATACH, said:
“We commend lawmakers for taking this important step to clarify Congress’ intent in the 2018 Farm Bill. Intentional misinterpretation of the Farm Bill led to the proliferation of unregulated synthetic THC products widely available for sale to minors.”
They argue that the bill creates a clear lane separating natural hemp, synthetic cannabinoids and hemp sold in legal dispensaries.
Meanwhile, like high time Recently reported on Big Alcohol’s hemp civil war, the alcohol industry is divided. The manufacturing lobby wants intoxicating cannabis to be phased out until federal regulations are in place, while beer and spirits distributors want to keep cannabis-infused beverages legal and tax them like wine.
Because distributors are already carrying hemp drinks.
To them, hemp THC is not a threat. This is inventory.
giants are completely cut
Another hidden twist: The shutdown deal removed previously approved language barring VA doctors from recommending medical cannabis to patients.
Marijuana Moment confirmed that the provision has been removed.
The message to veterans is simple: Not now.
what happens next
- The deal would reopen the government until January 30, 2026.
- cannabis is banned one year countdown Before enforcement.
- If leadership refuses to remove or modify the language, Rand Paul could force a delay of several days.
If passed, brands have three options:
- modify to fit 0.4 mg limit
- Enter the Regulated Cannabis System
- shut down
Congress says it is closing a loophole. The marijuana industry says Congress is shutting down an industry.
Photo: Shutterstock