Minnesota’s hemp industry can breathe a little easier after Congress approved a one-month delay of a hemp ban many producers say would be devastating.

In a bipartisan, 370-to-40 vote, the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a short-term government funding bill, the same one approved by the Senate last month. Tucked into the bill is a provision that pushes back a November prohibition on hemp-derived THC products to December.

The bill now goes to the White House.

While the ban is only pushed back a month, many in the industry say a short-term delay is the first step toward a more permanent solution for hemp.

“The hemp beverage industry looks forward to working with Congress to create a regulatory framework that protects public health, keeps products away from minors and permanently removes the bad actors that sell untested, high-potency, copycat gummies and candies that target children,” said Christopher Lackner, founder and president of the Hemp Beverage Alliance, in a statement.

Eric Taubel, director of the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management, said in July he had not received any guidance from the federal government on how it intends to interpret or enforce the ban if it goes into effect.

Because Minnesota was a pioneer among states in regulating hemp-derived THC products, Taubel expects hemp edibles and beverages will remain on store shelves, but it is likely that fewer retailers will carry these products. The industry has been a lifeline for Minnesota breweries who make THC seltzers as alcohol consumption declines.

The 2018 farm bill legalized hemp products containing up to 0.3% Delta-9 THC — the primary compound in marijuana that gets you high — by weight.

Since then, retailers and producers nationwide built businesses around gummies, chocolates, beverages, tinctures and topicals that met the new federal definition of hemp.

“They’ve figured out a loophole in the law and actually sell these products. We call them gas station weed, that actually have more THC. ... than even in marijuana,” said Dr. Andy Harris, a Maryland Republican representative.

The problem was the bill did not create a regulatory framework for the new products, so Congress started getting pressure to reverse course on hemp. Last year Congress included language in a different must-pass spending bill that would outlaw hemp products containing more than 0.4 milligrams of Delta-9 THC per container.

That standard made the products akin to Schedule I drugs under the federal Controlled Substances Act. That’s the most restrictive classification and lumps hemp in with recreational marijuana as well as heroin, PCP and ecstasy.

U.S. Rep. Brad Finstad, a southern Minnesota Republican, issued a statement casting his vote as an attempt to stave off a government shutdown. He did not respond to questions about the hemp delay.

“I was proud to vote yes and pass a clean CR,” Finstad said, “preventing another costly shutdown and funding the government through Dec. 11.”

Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Rep. Angie Craig, as the highest-ranking Democrats on the chambers’ agriculture committees, are among the loudest voices on the Hill for resolving the hemp stalemate. Both of the Minnesota Democrats have introduced legislation to delay the ban and establish a legal framework for hemp-derived products.

“Adults should have the freedom to purchase a THC beverage if they want to,” Sen. Tina Smith said in a statement. “Minnesota has created one of the strongest, most carefully regulated systems in the country to allow the sale of hemp products. The initial ban set to take place was ill-advised and would have hurt both hemp farmers and Minnesota breweries alike.”

Klobuchar, who pushed for the hemp delay language, said the bill is “good news for Minnesota’s farmers, brewers, small businesses, and customers.”

“This delay will give Minnesota hemp’s producers, retailers, and customers certainty, and give Congress more time to get to a long-term fix.”

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