Klobuchar: Hemp Ban Delay Included in Senate Budget Bill

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) announced that the Senate's bipartisan government funding bill includes a provision to delay the federal hemp ban, based on the bipartisan Hemp Planting Predictability Act she introduced with Senators Paul (R-KY) and Merkley (D-OR) and negotiated with the strong support of Sen. Sheehy (R-MT).

The Senate's bill would fund the federal government and delay the looming federal hemp ban through December 11, 2026, giving Minnesota hemp farmers, brewers, and small businesses additional time to plan for the future and giving Congress more time to pursue a long-term solution rather than allowing a federal crackdown to shut down a thriving, multi-billion-dollar American industry. In order to best protect public health and safety, the bipartisan Senate budget bill also bans synthetic hemp derivatives.

"Brewers, farmers, small businesses, and customers in Minnesota have made clear that the federal ban on hemp products will be devastating," Klobuchar said. "The new government funding bill in the Senate includes a key provision based on my bipartisan bill to delay the federal hemp ban, which I opposed last November, so other states can put more sensible safety rules in place like we have in Minnesota. This delay was immediately necessary to give Minnesota hemp producers and customers certainty, while giving Congress more time to get to a long-term fix."

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