Overview
- Senate negotiators inserted a provision in a stopgap funding bill to move the federal 0.4 mg total-THC-per-container ban from Nov. 12 to Dec. 11, a change the White House requested and that has stalled funding talks.
- Sen. Ted Budd filed an amendment, joined by other senators, to remove the delay and keep the ban on the original schedule, saying the pause would prolong public-safety risks to children.
- Reporting shows industry actors celebrated the delay and links MC Nutraceuticals CEO Bret Worley, who is White House chief of staff Susie Wiles’ son-in-law, to lobbying campaigns that urged senators to back the pause, prompting questions about possible conflicts of interest.
- In North Carolina, House Bill 328 — which would impose the same 0.4 mg-per-container cap and set a 21+ purchase age — remains in the House Rules Committee after intense, opposing pressure from law enforcement and hemp businesses.
- The choice before Congress will determine whether a multibillion-dollar intoxicating-hemp market is shut down on schedule, delayed while lawmakers seek regulatory fixes, or reshaped by state actions that have already moved in different directions.