As hemp producers brace for federal regulation deadline, Sen. Rand Paul offers bipartisan compromise

The Hemp Safety Enforcement Act is meant to avert what Paul has labeled a potential "crisis" for hemp farmers.

Last year, federal legislation reset the amount of allowable THC in hemp goods in an effort to cut down on intoxicating products that could find their way into hands of children.

But Paul and legislative partner Minnesota Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar are among the lawmakers who agree with hemp producers that the level is so low, it will severely damage the hemp industry if it takes effect in November.

"I lament that government's trying to destroy this industry now, but I'm doing everything I can... to try to say that if your state has decided to regulate hemp that the state law would supersede the federal law," Paul told a recent tele-townhall.

Paul's bill would give states an opt-out, permitting them to take on regulation of hemp-derived products themselves. States that take that option would be required to enforce a minimum age for buying the products in question and ban synthetic cannabinoids.

Under the reforms, no state could block legal hemp or hemp-derived products from moving to or from other states that have also opted out of federal regulation.

The Kentucky General Assembly adjourned this month without passing state regulations for hemp-derived products.

Proponents of the federal regulations include Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, who pioneered the reintroduction of hemp under the 2018 Farm Bill. With the rise of synthetic and intoxicating hemp-derived products, McConnell described the original bill as containing loopholes that allowed for "bad actors" to emerge.

Paul says his compromise bill aligns with President Donald Trump's Executive Order on expanding medical marijuana and CBD research.

The senator says the bill strikes a balance that will protect kids while rescuing a thriving industry from what he sees as overregulation.