House Passes Farm Bill Targeting Intoxicating Hemp, Senate Up Next
In our latest Trade To Black podcast presented by Flowhub, hosts Shadd Dales and Anthony Varrell welcome in Michael Bronstein, President of the American Trade Association for Cannabis & Hemp. Together, we’ll walk through changes in cannabis and hemp policy, including updates to the Farm Bill, updates in rescheduling, and cannabis in Virginia and Pennsylvania.
The House has passed its version of the Farm Bill, and inside is language that tightens the definition of hemp and targets intoxicating products like Delta-8, THCA, and synthetic cannabinoids. The bill heads to the Senate, where the debate gets even more important, and Senator Rand Paul is one of the key names to watch as lawmakers decide whether this hemp language stays, changes, or gets challenged. Plus the latest on cannabis rescheduling. Medical cannabis has officially moved to Schedule III, and the DEA has set a June 29 hearing to look at whether marijuana as a whole should follow. That opens the door for a major debate over what the federal framework looks like from here. They also get into Virginia’s adult-use deadline and the latest uncertainty around Pennsylvania legalization.
We kick off with discussion around the anticipated legal challenge to cannabis rescheduling from Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM). With the DEA already accepting applications under the new framework, guest Michael Bronstein believes that SAM faces a difficult case, pointing out that bicameral support for rescheduling from both the Biden and Trump administrations makes the likelihood of a stay being granted extremely low.
The 2024 Farm Bill passed the House with hemp language that would redefine the plant to include only naturally occurring, non-intoxicating cannabinoids — effectively targeting Delta-8, THCA flower, and much of the synthetic hemp market. Bronstein cautioned that the Senate vote remains a high bar, noting the bill is already overloaded with competing priorities, summer recess is fast approaching, and the November deadline creates additional pressure.
On the state level, the panel addressed comments from Pennsylvania’s likely Republican gubernatorial nominee, who publicly stated she would veto any adult-use legalization bill and suggested Senate Republicans would block it as long as they hold the majority. Bronstein noted the comments drew widespread media attention and argued the stance looks increasingly out of step with federal momentum.
Finally, the hosts touched on Virginia, where Governor Spanberger has until late May to sign, veto, or allow a legalization bill to become law without her signature. This and more when you tune in.
